Worldwide shipments of devices that support Internet video consumption will nearly quintuple by 2013, according to electronics industry analysts iSuppli, spurred by an increase in consumers’ broadband Internet access.

Four years hence, an estimated 376.5 million “entertainment-oriented consumer electronics platforms” with Internet video-watching capabilities will ship, up from 80.5 million such devices shipped in 2008. These “platforms” include television sets, video game consoles, set-top boxes, and other Internet-enabled gadgets.

iSuppli market analysts tout the mushrooming demand, but also stress challenges that device manufacturers, designers, and distributors will need to overcome. Consumer electronics companies will have to “educate consumers and the supply chain on the benefits of Internet video and how it can be implemented,” according to the report.

Internet TV device makers will need to bring merchants and customers up to speed, not just about Internet video, but also about the unique benefits and features of each different platform and gadget, iSuppli says. That, and the “challenge” of adequate bandwidth for an optimal Internet tv-viewing experience, comprise the main hurdles for consumer electronics companies to overcome.

Nonetheless, the report’s authors say, the future of Internet video “is bright.”