While I've used the pi as a media server before and it did admirably I think you have the wrong idea, it's just a set top client. A Pi Zero could probably do just as well or pretty much anything that can run Kodi ... which rules out AppleTV sadly.
and I'm right there with you not supporting other peoples tech. My parents Chromecast got a PiHole exemption because screw explaining why they're watching a static screen for 3 minutes where ads used to be ... every time; if their tv app even loads without phoning home in the first place.