The specter of the Apple TV rears its head again as a Piper Jaffray analyst claims that Apple Inc. will release the Apple TV later this year.

According to a report from CNN, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster wrote in a note to clients that Apple has contacted a major TV component supplier about the capabilities of its displays.

"We recently spoke to a major TV component supplier who has been contacted by Apple regarding various capabilities of their television display components," Munster wrote in the note to investors. "We see this as continued evidence that Apple is exploring production of a television."

Munster said his analysis is based on a conversation he had last month with a contact close to the supplier who said there are prototype Apple TVs in the works. Couple with reports last year that Apple was investing heavily in manufacturing facilities to build 50-inch LCD screens, Munster is convinced that Apple will launch a TV set by the end of 2012 but the timing is still uncertain.

"The hardware could be ready quickly, but the timing and scope of a revamped TV content solution is unclear," he wrote.

Munster has previously said that Apple would sell 6.6 million Apple TV set-top boxes in 2009 and launch the Apple TV set in 2011. Apple's set-top boxes are far from selling Munster's predicted 6.6 million units with sales of less than 3 million units, and 2011 came and went without an Apple TV. Munster notes that Apple will only enter mature markets like smartphones or MP3 players if it can seize the opportunity to re-invent the market.

"We believe that Apple only enters mature markets with the goal of revolutionizing them, as it did with the smartphone," the note continued. "Without a revamped TV content solution, we do not think Apple enters the TV market."

Munster further points out three scenarios where Apple can deliver the TV content to consumers. Apple can enable the Apple TV set to manage a consumer's live TV service from a unified interface much as TiVo does today. Apple could also offer access to live TV from network channels as well as offer other Web-based video services. Additional content could be purchased from the App Store on the Apple television. The last scenario involves Apple offering monthly subscriptions for live TV packages with content from content providers. This is by far the most challenging scenario with Apple opting to control the entire television experience.

"Such an offering would be unlikely given existing licensing arrangements between content providers and service providers as well as the fact that it lies outside of Apple's core competencies, even in media," Munster said.