Set top box quandaries

[gir489]

I recently switched over from Comcast to Verizon. In the Internet department, Verizon is a clean sweep over Comcast. However, for TV, it leaves a lot to be desired. I had Verizon sometime in 2016ish and back then there was a Fios TV app that the Apple TV could download, and we basically used that as the kid's set top box. I moved from Maryland to Pittsburgh, and apartment I moved in to got paid by Comcast to not allow Verizon to run fiber. So after my lease was up I thought about moving, didn't, ended up hating the 2nd year, so I moved to a house that has FiOS again. I was excited to have FiOS internet again because I am an avid believer in gigabit internet, which I have. But I also wanted TV. I signed up for FiOS TV as well and when I tried to install the FiOS TV app on the Apple TV again, it wasn't on the store. I'm able to download the app on my phone and stream the kid's TV to the Apple TV. However, this basically requires that I dedicate the phone and apple TV as a set top box. As soon as I press the home key or lock the phone, the TV stops playing. This is espically annoying when the phone locks itself after 10 minutes of idle time. I could in theory just get an iPad from Amazon for $250 and use that as the dedicated set top box for the room. I looked online for FiOS set top boxes to buy, since I don't like renting equipment (I was able to buy the g1100 router from Amazon) but I can't find ANY FiOS set top boxes online for sale. So my choices are, rent a set top box from Verizon, or buy an iPad dedicated to streaming?

[Edg1]

Yes that is pretty much your options. You could rent a cable card and get a TiVo. The new TiVo only needs one cable card for the main box the other smaller client box works off ethernet or MoCA. 

I also saw on here that you can put the FiOS TV app on a Firestick. You just have to jailbreak it just like when you add Kodi.