That was a mouthful to read back to myself…
Sometimes though even if you can 'just about' use something that's old and obsolete it's usually better for all involved to let it die and get on with your life.
It's taken months on and off of messing around and ultimately I'm not sure it was worth the effort, but I have finally succeeded and got that sense of accomplishment we all crave.
So what else is new?
I suppose it was bound to happen eventually but the new version of iTunes has cut support for the first generation Apple TV. You should stick with iTunes 12.6.x or below if you want to continue syncing the two.