Feedback: guides-real_time_translation

Documentation Feedback

Original URL: https://www.assemblyai.com/docs/guides/real_time_translation
Category: guides
Generated: 05/08/2025, 4:38:15 pm

Claude Sonnet 4 Feedback

Generated: 05/08/2025, 4:38:14 pm

Technical Documentation Analysis: Real-Time Translation Guide

Overall Assessment

This documentation provides a functional code example but suffers from significant clarity, structure, and completeness issues that would create substantial user pain points. Here’s my detailed analysis:

Critical Missing Information

1. Prerequisites and Dependencies

# Missing: Installation requirements
pip install pyaudio websocket-client requests

No mention of system dependencies (PortAudio for PyAudio)
No Python version requirements
Missing troubleshooting for common installation issues (especially PyAudio on different OS)

2. API Key Setup

No explanation of where to find the API key in the dashboard
Missing security best practices (environment variables vs hardcoding)
No mention of API key permissions/scopes required

3. Cost and Rate Limits

No mention that each translation call to LeMUR incurs additional costs
Missing rate limiting considerations
No guidance on usage optimization

Structure and Organization Issues

1. Poor Information Hierarchy

Current flow: Quickstart → Step-by-step (repeating same code) Recommended structure:

1. Overview & Use Cases
2. Prerequisites & Setup
3. Quick Start (minimal working example)
4. Detailed Implementation
5. Configuration Options
6. Error Handling & Troubleshooting
7. Advanced Features

2. Code Duplication

The quickstart and step-by-step sections contain identical code, making the document unnecessarily long and harder to maintain.

Clarity and Explanation Problems

1. Unexplained Concepts

What is “format_turns” and why is it crucial?
What’s the difference between partial and final transcripts?
Why use threading and what are the implications?
What does the turn_is_formatted flag indicate?

2. Missing Context

# Current - unclear why this matters
"format_turns": True,  # Request formatted final transcripts

# Better - explain the impact
"format_turns": True,  # Enables sentence-level formatting and punctuation
                      # Required for quality translation results

User Experience Pain Points

1. No Error Handling Guidance

# Current - generic error handling
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error streaming audio: {e}")

# Better - specific error scenarios
except OSError as e:
    if "Input overflowed" in str(e):
        print("Audio buffer overflow - try reducing FRAMES_PER_BUFFER")
    elif "Device unavailable" in str(e):
        print("Microphone not accessible - check permissions")

2. Missing Customization Examples

How to change target language?
How to modify audio settings?
How to handle different microphone setups?

3. No Output Examples

Users have no idea what to expect. Add:

Expected Output:
Original (English): "Hello, how are you today?"
Translated (Spanish): "Hola, ¿cómo estás hoy?"

Specific Improvements Needed

1. Add Prerequisites Section

## Prerequisites

### System Requirements
- Python 3.8 or higher
- Working microphone
- Active internet connection

### Installation
```bash
# Install required packages
pip install pyaudio websocket-client requests

# On macOS, you may need:
brew install portaudio

# On Ubuntu/Debian:
sudo apt-get install portaudio19-dev

API Setup

Sign up for AssemblyAI
Navigate to your dashboard
Copy your API key from the “API Keys” section
Set as environment variable: export ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY="your_key_here"

### 2. **Improve Code Examples**
```python
# Better configuration with explanations
CONNECTION_PARAMS = {
    "sample_rate": 16000,      # Standard rate for speech recognition
    "format_turns": True,      # Enable sentence-level formatting
    "language_code": "en",     # Source language (optional)
}

# Environment variable usage
import os
YOUR_API_KEY = os.getenv("ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY")
if not YOUR_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("Please set ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY environment variable")

3. Add Troubleshooting Section

## Common Issues

### Microphone Not Working
- **Error**: "Error opening microphone stream"
- **Solution**: Check microphone permissions and try different input devices

### Translation Delays
- **Issue**: Long pauses between speech and translation
- **Cause**: LeMUR API calls add latency
- **Mitigation**: Consider batching short phrases

### High API Costs
- **Issue**: Unexpected charges
- **Cause**: Each translation is a separate LeMUR call
- **Solution**: Implement caching for repeated phrases

4. Add Configuration Options

# Translation configuration
TRANSLATION_CONFIG = {
    "target_language": "Spanish",
    "model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
    "batch_translations": False,  # Process individual turns vs batching
    "cache_translations": True,   # Cache common phrases
}

5. Include Working Examples

Add a simple test without microphone (using audio file)
Show expected console output
Provide troubleshooting for common scenarios

6. Security and Best Practices

## Security Best Practices
- Never hardcode API keys in source code
- Use environment variables or secure key management
- Implement proper error handling to avoid exposing sensitive information
- Consider implementing request timeouts and retry logic