This one is Pro 2019 edition: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YP9FBMM/
Just had another thought of a Plex Server for you. NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro (2019) is a great choice. Awesome media streamer (I have one) and can act as a Plex Server if you add a external hard drive to it. Pricey, but use it in your main setup and acts as a great Plex client too. There's a "deal" going on at Amazon right now. Also curious if you go the Recast route and how that works for ya. Good luck!
Not the first I've heard the nvidia shield mentioned.
I've seen there's 2 models for it, the regular one and the pro. How can I be certain that the model I buy is a pro, aside from it literally saying that in the name?
The reason I ask is because I see two similar listings on Amazon for Nvidia shields. One blatantly says its a pro, the other does not. The price difference is $10, and they show different remotes.
$189 listing - which, weirdly enough, links to a "newer model" which I've never seen before and is even cheaper
Since you've only included Apple hardware here....
A bunch of the Fire Sticks and the 2nd gen Cube are on sale (4k $25, 4k Max $35) :
Shield Pro is on sale for $175 (only a measly 13% off, but still) : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YP9FBMM
Edit : The Chromecast with Google TV (4K) is $30 at Walmart (and you get some stupid Funko children's toy too).
TV's won't output multichannel lossless audio, only compressed audio codecs or stereo PCM. You need an external device for multichannel lossless audio. The Shield TV, tube or pro, is the only Android TV device that will output multichannel lossless audio. The Fire TV Cube 3rd Gen or a custom CoreELEC box are other options that will also do this. The CoreELEC box is the cheapest solution but requires some research and know-how on your part.