Granted Patent B2

US 12,581,167 · App. 18/774,261 · Granted Mar 17, 2026

Inventor: Nicholas B. Newell (Englewood, CO)

Assignee: DISH Technologies L.L.C.

H04N21/482H04N21/431H04N21/462

Abstract

Claims (67)

1 . A method for generating a multi-dimensional content selection menu comprising:

obtaining a first set of a plurality of content attributes;

assigning each content attribute of the first set to a respective axis of a plurality of axes of the content selection menu;

identifying a plurality of audiovisual (AV) programs, each AV program having an associated value for each content attribute of the first set;

determining, for each AV program, a position along each axis of the plurality of axes based on the value for the content attribute corresponding to the respective axis for that attribute;

populating the content selection menu with the plurality of AV programs by positioning each AV program in a multidimensional space defined by the plurality of axes in accordance with the determined position along each axis of the plurality of axes;

outputting the content selection menu for presentation;

receiving an interest input of an AV program indicating an interest level in one of the plurality of AV programs;

obtaining a second set of a second plurality of content attributes based on the interest input, wherein the obtaining the second set of the second plurality of content attributes based on the interest input includes:

determining a plurality of content attributes of the AV program of the interest input;

for each content attribute of the plurality of content attributes of the AV program of the interest input, determining a degree of association between the AV program of the interest input and the content attribute; and

selecting the second set of the second plurality of content attributes to include content attributes based on the determined degree of association between the AV program of the interest input and the content attribute, which causes the second set of the second plurality of content attributes to differ from the first set of the plurality of content attributes; and

generating a second content selection menu based on the selected second set of the second plurality of content attributes.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a selection input of a second AV program of a plurality of second AV programs; and

providing the selected second AV program for play in response to receiving the selection input.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a first AV program of the plurality of AV programs is displayed at a different position on the presented menu than a second AV program of the plurality of AV programs.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein outputting the content selection menu further includes:

outputting a preview of at least one AV program of the plurality of AV programs.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein an AV program of the plurality of AV programs is a live broadcast and is provided for viewing as part of the content selection menu.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the value represents a level of association between the AV program and the content attribute of the plurality of content attributes.

7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of axes are two axes or three axes.

8 . A system for generating a multi-dimensional content selection menu comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

obtaining a first set of a plurality of content attributes;

assigning each content attribute of the first set to a respective axis of a plurality of axes of the content selection menu;

identifying a plurality of audiovisual (AV) programs, each AV program having an associated value for each content attribute of the first set;

determining, for each AV program, a position along each axis of the plurality of axes based on the value for the content attribute corresponding to the respective axis for that attribute;

populating the content selection menu with the plurality of AV programs by positioning each AV program in a multidimensional space defined by the plurality of axes in accordance with the determined position along each axis of the plurality of axes;

outputting the content selection menu for presentation;

receiving an interest input of an AV program indicating an interest level in one of the plurality of AV programs;

obtaining a second set of a second plurality of content attributes based on the interest input, wherein the obtaining the second set of the second plurality of content attributes based on the interest input includes:

determining a plurality of content attributes of the AV program of the interest input;

for each content attribute of the plurality of content attributes of the AV program of the interest input, determining a degree of association between the AV program of the interest input and the content attribute; and

selecting the second set of the second plurality of content attributes to include content attributes based on the determined degree of association between the AV program of the interest input and the content attribute, which causes the second set of the second plurality of content attributes to differ from the first set of the plurality of content attributes; and

generating a second content selection menu based on the selected second set of the second plurality of content attributes.

9 . The system of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving a selection input of a second AV program of a plurality of second AV programs; and

providing the selected second AV program for play in response to receiving the selection input.

10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein a first AV program of the plurality of AV programs is displayed at a different position on the presented menu than a second AV program of the plurality of AV programs.

11 . The system of claim 8 wherein outputting the content selection menu further includes:

outputting a preview of at least one AV program of the plurality of AV programs.

12 . The system of claim 8 wherein an AV program of the plurality of AV programs is a live broadcast and is provided for viewing as part of the content selection menu.

13 . The system of claim 8 wherein the value represents a level of association between the AV program and the content attribute of the plurality of content attributes.

14 . The system of claim 8 wherein the plurality of axes are two axes or three axes.

15 . A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations, the operations including:

obtaining a first set of a plurality of content attributes;

assigning each content attribute of the first set to a respective axis of a plurality of axes of the content selection menu;

identifying a plurality of audiovisual (AV) programs, each AV program having an associated value for each content attribute of the first set;

determining, for each AV program, a position along each axis of the plurality of axes based on the value for the content attribute corresponding to the respective axis for that attribute;

populating the content selection menu with the plurality of AV programs by positioning each AV program in a multidimensional space defined by the plurality of axes in accordance with the determined position along each axis of the plurality of axes;

outputting the content selection menu for presentation;

receiving an interest input of an AV program indicating an interest level in one of the plurality of AV programs;

obtaining a second set of a second plurality of content attributes based on the interest input, wherein the obtaining the second set of the second plurality of content attributes based on the interest input includes:

determining a plurality of content attributes of the AV program of the interest input;

for each content attribute of the plurality of content attributes of the AV program of the interest input, determining a degree of association between the AV program of the interest input and the content attribute; and

selecting the second set of the second plurality of content attributes to include content attributes based on the determined degree of association between the AV program of the interest input and the content attribute, which causes the second set of the second plurality of content attributes to differ from the first set of the plurality of content attributes; and

generating a second content selection menu based on the selected second set of the second plurality of content attributes.

16 . The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , further comprising:

receiving a selection input of a second AV program of a plurality of second AV programs; and

providing the selected second AV program for play in response to receiving the selection input.

17 . The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein a first AV program of the plurality of AV programs is displayed at a different position on the presented menu than a second AV program of the plurality of AV programs.

18 . The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein outputting the content selection menu further includes:

outputting a preview of at least one AV program of the plurality of AV programs.

19 . The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein an AV program of the plurality of AV programs is a live broadcast and is provided for viewing as part of the content selection menu.

20 . The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the value represents a level of association between the AV program and the content attribute of the plurality of content attributes.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (13)