IP Library › Granted Patent US 12713089

Granted Patent B2

US 12713089 · App. 18/666,558 · Granted Aug 18, 2026

Methods and systems for automated content generation

Inventor: Vibol C. Hou (Long Beach, CA)

Assignee: Pluto Inc.

H04N21/431 H04N21/4668

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 12713089
App. No.: 18/666,558
Granted: Aug 18, 2026
Kind: B2

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USPTO Patent Center↗ Full Patent PDF↗

Abstract

An aspect of the disclosure related to methods and systems configured to distribute interactive media, such as videos, streamed or downloaded over a network and to enable efficient content discovery. An aspect relates to enabling a user to interactively navigate through representations of video content by drilling up to broader genre categories or down to narrower genre categories. An aspect relates to the generation of customized content from existing content using a learning engine and user characteristics. The learning engine may comprise a neural network.

Claims (82)

1 . A system configured to provide distribution of video content over a network, the system comprising:

a computer device;

a network interface; and

non-transitory computer readable memory having program instructions stored thereon that when executed by the computer device cause the system to perform operations comprising:

receive a request for a program via the network interface over a network from a user device remote from the system;

at least partly in response to receiving the request, generate a corresponding manifest comprising a plurality of entries;

transmit the manifest to the user device;

stream the program via the network interface over the network to the user device remote from the system at least partly in response to a request made by the user device using one or more manifest entries;

determine that an end of the program has or is being streamed to the user device;

generate a plurality of different versions of previews comprising different sets of video clips for a given program in a plurality of programs based at least in part on a maximum permitted clip length and a maximum permitted preview length;

generate a set of recommended programs from the plurality of programs based at least in part on characteristics of the program;

access from memory respective images corresponding to recommended programs in the set of recommended programs;

cause a user interface to be presented on the user device populated with the images corresponding to the recommended programs in the set of recommended programs;

select respective versions of previews from the plurality of different versions of previews for the recommended programs based on at least one user characteristic;

automatically cause a playback sequence of the selected respective versions of previews corresponding to the set of recommended programs to begin, wherein the images corresponding to the recommended programs in the set of recommended programs are displayed while a preview is currently playing, excluding an image corresponding to the currently playing preview; and

at least partly in response to detecting a selection of a first control during playback of a given preview in the selected respective versions of previews, cause the given preview to cease playing and cause a program corresponding to the given preview to be streamed to the user device and to begin playing in full screen mode.

2 . The system as defined in claim 1 , the operations further comprising:

causing a transition screen to be displayed between the detection of the selection of the first control and the playing of the program corresponding to the given preview in full screen mode,

wherein the user device is enabled to buffer the program corresponding to the given preview while the transition screen is displayed between the detection of the selection of the first control and the playing of the program corresponding to the given preview in full screen mode.

3 . The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein generating a set of recommended programs based at least in part on characteristics of the program further comprises generating the set of recommended programs based in part on feedback provided by the user for previously viewed programs.

4 . The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein causing a user interface to be presented on the user device populated with the images corresponding to the recommended programs in the set of recommended programs further comprises causing the images to be displayed in a fanned out, partially overlapping configuration, wherein when a given preview is playing it is caused to play in a foreground while images corresponding to the set of recommended programs are displayed in a background.

5 . The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein generating a set of recommended programs is based in part on a geographic area of the user device, and wherein the set of recommended programs is limited to a maximum number of programs.

6 . The system as defined in claim 1 , the operations further comprising:

stream a second program via the network interface over the network to the user device remote from the system;

determine that an end of the second program has or is being streamed to the user device;

generate a second set of recommended programs based at least in part on characteristics of the second program;

access respective images corresponding to recommended programs in the second set of recommended programs;

cause the user interface to be presented on the user device populated with the images corresponding to the recommended programs in the second set of recommended programs;

automatically cause a second playback sequence of a second set of respective versions of previews corresponding to the second set of recommended programs to begin, wherein images corresponding to the recommended programs in the second set of recommended programs are displayed while a given preview in the second set of respective versions of previews is currently playing, excluding an image corresponding to the currently playing given preview in the second set of respective versions of previews; and

at least partly in response to detecting a selection of the first control during playback of the given preview in the second set of respective versions of previews, cause the given preview in the second set of respective versions of previews to cease playing and cause a corresponding program to the given preview in the second set of respective versions of previews to be streamed to the user device and to begin playing in full screen mode.

7 . The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein selection of the first control further comprises selecting the given preview while the given preview is playing.

8 . A computer implemented method, the method comprising:

receiving a request for a program via a network interface over a network from a user device;

at least partly in response to receiving the request, transmitting a corresponding manifest comprising a plurality of entries to the user device;

streaming the program from a server via the network interface over the network to the user device at least partly in response to a request made by the user device using one or more manifest entries;

generating a plurality of different versions of previews comprising different sets of video clips for a given program in a plurality of programs based at least in part on a maximum permitted clip length and a maximum permitted preview length;

generating a set of recommended programs from the plurality of programs based at least in part on characteristics of the program;

accessing respective images corresponding to recommended programs in the set of recommended programs;

causing a user interface to be presented on the user device populated with the images corresponding to the recommended programs in the set of recommended programs;

selecting respective versions of previews from the plurality of different versions of previews for the recommended programs based on at least one user characteristic;

automatically causing a playback sequence of the selected respective versions of previews corresponding to the set of recommended programs to begin; and

at least partly in response to detecting a selection of a first control during playback of a given preview in the selected respective versions of previews, causing the given preview to cease playing and cause a program corresponding to the given preview to be streamed to the user device and to begin playing in full screen mode.

9 . The method as defined in claim 8 , the method further comprising:

causing a transition screen to be displayed between the detection of the selection of the first control and the playing of the program corresponding to the given preview in full screen mode,

10 . The method as defined in claim 8 , wherein generating a set of recommended programs based at least in part on characteristics of the program further comprises generating the set of recommended programs based in part on feedback provided by the user for previously viewed programs.

11 . The method as defined in claim 8 , wherein causing a user interface to be presented on the user device populated with the images corresponding to the recommended programs in the set of recommended programs further comprises causing the images to be displayed in a fanned out, partially overlapping configuration, wherein when a given preview is playing it is caused to play in a foreground while images corresponding to the set of recommended programs are displayed in a background.

12 . The method as defined in claim 8 , wherein generating a set of recommended programs is based in part on a geographic area of the user device, and wherein the set of recommended programs is limited to a maximum number of programs.

13 . The method as defined in claim 8 , the method further comprising:

streaming a second program via the network interface over the network to the user device;

generating a second set of recommended programs based at least in part on characteristics of the second program;

accessing respective images corresponding to recommended programs in the second set of recommended programs;

causing the user interface to be presented on the user device populated with the images corresponding to the recommended programs in the second set of recommended programs;

automatically causing a second playback sequence of a second set of respective versions of previews corresponding to the second set of recommended programs to begin, wherein images corresponding to the recommended programs in the second set of recommended programs are displayed while a given preview in the second set of respective versions of previews is currently playing, excluding an image corresponding to the currently playing given preview in the second set of respective versions of previews; and

at least partly in response to detecting a selection of the first control during playback of the given preview in the second set of respective versions of previews, causing the given preview in the second set of respective versions of previews to cease playing and cause a corresponding program to the given preview in the second set of respective versions of previews to be streamed to the user device and to begin playing in full screen mode.

14 . The method as defined in claim 8 , wherein selection of the first control further comprises selecting the given preview while the given preview is playing.

15 . Non-transitory computer readable memory having program instructions stored thereon that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receive a request for a program from a user device;

at least partly in response to receiving the request, transmit a corresponding manifest comprising a plurality of entries to the user device;

stream the program to the user device at least partly in response to a request made by the user device using one or more manifest entries;

generate a set of recommended programs from the plurality of programs based at least in part on characteristics of the program;

access respective images corresponding to recommended programs in the set of recommended programs;

cause a user interface to be presented on the user device populated with the images corresponding to the recommended programs in the set of recommended programs;

select respective versions of previews from the plurality of different versions of previews for the recommended programs based on at least one user characteristic;

16 . The non-transitory computer readable memory as defined in claim 15 , the operations further comprising:

causing a transition screen to be displayed between the detection of the selection of the first control and the playing of the program corresponding to the given preview in full screen mode,

17 . The non-transitory computer readable memory as defined in claim 15 , wherein generating a set of recommended programs based at least in part on characteristics of the program further comprises generating the set of recommended programs based in part on feedback provided by the user for previously viewed programs.

18 . The non-transitory computer readable memory as defined in claim 15 , wherein causing a user interface to be presented on the user device populated with the images corresponding to the recommended programs in the set of recommended programs further comprises causing the images to be displayed in a fanned out, partially overlapping configuration, wherein when a given preview is playing it is caused to play in a foreground while images corresponding to the set of recommended programs are displayed in a background.

19 . The non-transitory computer readable memory as defined in claim 15 , wherein generating a set of recommended programs is based in part on a geographic area of the user device, and wherein the set of recommended programs is limited to a maximum number of programs.

20 . The non-transitory computer readable memory as defined in claim 15 , the operations further comprising:

stream a second program to the user device;

determine that an end of the second program has or is being streamed to the user device;

generate a second set of recommended programs based at least in part on characteristics of the second program;

access respective images corresponding to recommended programs in the second set of recommended programs;

cause the user interface to be presented on the user device populated with the images corresponding to the recommended programs in the second set of recommended programs;

21 . The non-transitory computer readable memory as defined in claim 15 , wherein selection of the first control further comprises selecting the given preview while the given preview is playing.