So I'm attempting to "cut the cord" but one potential issue I've identified is that my parents have always heavily relied on dialing channel numbers to access the channels they want. Considering everything for them has always been three button presses away from their fingertips and it can be very difficult trying to adjust them to new things (especially when they're legitimately less intuitive) I'm wondering: Do IPTV players/providers allow you to dial channel numbers to access the channel? If only certain players/providers allow it then which ones? Is this even something worth worrying about? For the sake of reference, I have an Nvidia Shield TV and was planning on using Tivimate in conjunction
You can achieve this with Smarters Iptv and STB Emulator.
A lot of experienced users use TiviMate but considering it's for your parents I'd recommend they use Smarters. You enter the numbers of the channel (once they're familiar with the channel number) and it will go to that channel. Furthermore the favourites feature is especially useful for inexperienced users as once you've gone through and favorited your channels it will build a personalised TV guide based on your/their favorites.