Inside the IBC: broadcasters peer into the future at international conference.(Technology)

An estimated 40,000 broadcasters descended on Amsterdam last week for the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC), the European version of the NAB show. At the RAI Convention Center, a big steel building that clashes with the city's famed canals and ancient architecture, they discussed the future of European TV.

The big advantage of IBC, says Sony Broadcast Director of Marketing Alec Shapiro, is the chance to get a "hands-on demo of a product." Broadcasters can see how products introduced at NAB would fit into their stations and affect various products and systems.