Feedback: guides-identify_duplicate_channels

Documentation Feedback

Original URL: https://www.assemblyai.com/docs/guides/identify_duplicate_channels
Category: guides
Generated: 05/08/2025, 4:40:02 pm

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Claude Sonnet 4 Feedback

Generated: 05/08/2025, 4:40:01 pm

Technical Documentation Analysis & Recommendations

Overall Assessment

This documentation provides a useful workflow but has several critical gaps that would frustrate users attempting to implement it. The technical approach is sound, but the presentation needs significant improvement.

🚨 Critical Issues

1. Missing Setup Information

• Issue: No API key setup instructions
• Fix: Add a dedicated “Prerequisites” section:

## Prerequisites
1. **AssemblyAI Account**: [Sign up for free](https://assemblyai.com/dashboard/signup)
2. **API Key**: Get your API key from your [dashboard](https://assemblyai.com/dashboard/)
3. **Environment Setup**: Set your API key as an environment variable:
   ```bash
   export ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"

### 2. **Incomplete Code Examples**
- **Issue**: Final example uses placeholder values without guidance
- **Fix**: Provide complete, runnable example:
```python
import os
import assemblyai as aai

# Set API key from environment variable
aai.settings.api_key = os.getenv("ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY")

# Replace with your actual file path
original_path = "/path/to/your/stereo_audio.wav"

# Rest of the workflow...

📋 Missing Information

1. Supported Audio Formats

Add a section listing supported formats and file size limits:

## Supported Audio Formats
- WAV, MP3, MP4, FLAC, AAC, OGG
- Maximum file size: 2.2GB
- Sample rates: 8kHz to 48kHz recommended

2. Error Handling

The current error handling is minimal. Add comprehensive error scenarios:

def load_audio(file_path):
    if not os.path.exists(file_path):
        raise FileNotFoundError(f"Audio file not found: {file_path}")

    try:
        audio = AudioSegment.from_file(file_path)
    except Exception as e:
        raise ValueError(f"Unable to load audio file. Ensure it's a valid audio format: {e}")

    # Rest of function...

3. Performance Considerations

Add a warning section:

## ⚠️ Performance Note
This method loads the entire audio file into memory. For very large files (>500MB), consider:
- Processing files in chunks
- Using streaming hash algorithms
- Monitoring memory usage

🔧 Structure Improvements

1. Reorganize Content Flow

Current flow: Prerequisites → Helper Functions → Integration Improved flow:

1. Overview & Use Cases
2. Prerequisites & Setup
3. Quick Start Example
4. Detailed Implementation
5. Advanced Options
6. Troubleshooting

2. Add Code Organization

Suggest organizing code into a class:

class DuplicateChannelDetector:
    def __init__(self, api_key: str):
        aai.settings.api_key = api_key

    def detect_and_process(self, file_path: str) -> str:
        """Main workflow method"""
        # Implementation here

📖 Clarity Issues

1. Confusing Return Values

• Issue: compare_audio_channels description mentions “1 meaning same, 0 meaning different” but returns boolean
• Fix: Update description to match implementation or change return type

2. Ambiguous Function Names

• convert_to_mono_if_duplicate → process_duplicate_channels
• compare_audio_channels → has_duplicate_channels

3. Missing Context

Add explanation of why this matters:

## Why This Matters
When stereo files contain identical content on both channels, AssemblyAI's dual-channel processing will:
- Generate redundant transcription results
- Potentially merge identical content incorrectly
- Increase processing time and costs
- Reduce transcript accuracy

💡 Better Examples Needed

1. Real-World Scenarios

## Common Use Cases
- **Podcast recordings** where mono content was saved as stereo
- **Phone calls** recorded with identical audio on both channels
- **Screen recordings** with duplicated system audio

2. Complete Working Example

Provide a full script users can run immediately:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Complete example: Detect and handle duplicate audio channels
Usage: python duplicate_detector.py path/to/audio.wav
"""
import sys
# ... complete implementation

🎯 User Experience Improvements

1. Add Validation Steps

def validate_setup():
    """Verify all dependencies and API access"""
    # Check installations
    # Verify API key
    # Test API connection

2. Progress Indicators

def convert_to_mono_if_duplicate(file_path):
    print(f"🔍 Analyzing channels in: {os.path.basename(file_path)}")
    if compare_audio_channels(file_path):
        print("✅ Duplicate channels detected - converting to mono...")
        # ... rest of function

3. Add Troubleshooting Section

## Troubleshooting
**Q: Getting "This function only supports stereo audio files" error?**
A: Your file might be mono. Check with: `ffprobe -i yourfile.wav`

**Q: Hash comparison seems slow?**
A: Large files take time. Consider sampling for very long audio files.

📊 Additional Recommendations

1. Add file size warnings for large audio files
2. Include cost implications of dual-channel vs mono processing
3. Provide alternative detection methods (sampling vs full file)
4. Add logging configuration for production use
5. Include unit tests examples for the helper functions

These improvements would transform this from a basic code snippet into comprehensive, user-friendly documentation that developers can confidently implement.

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