Feedback: guides-transcribe_youtube_videos

Documentation Feedback

Original URL: https://www.assemblyai.com/docs/guides/transcribe_youtube_videos
Category: guides
Generated: 05/08/2025, 4:34:58 pm

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Claude Sonnet 4 Feedback

Generated: 05/08/2025, 4:34:57 pm

Technical Documentation Analysis & Feedback

Overall Assessment

This guide provides a functional foundation for transcribing YouTube videos, but it has several gaps that could frustrate users. The structure is logical, but execution lacks completeness and robust error handling.

Critical Missing Information

1. Prerequisites & Requirements

Issue: No mention of system requirements or dependencies Fix: Add a prerequisites section:

## Prerequisites
- Python 3.7+
- FFmpeg installed on your system (required by yt-dlp for audio extraction)
- AssemblyAI API key ([get one free here](https://assemblyai.com/dashboard/signup))

### Installing FFmpeg
- **Windows**: Download from [ffmpeg.org](https://ffmpeg.org/download.html) or use `winget install ffmpeg`
- **macOS**: `brew install ffmpeg`
- **Linux**: `sudo apt install ffmpeg` (Ubuntu/Debian)

2. Error Handling

Issue: No error handling for common failure scenarios Fix: Add comprehensive error handling examples:

import assemblyai as aai
import yt_dlp
import os
from pathlib import Path

def transcribe_youtube_video(video_url: str, api_key: str) -> str:
    """
    Transcribe a YouTube video given its URL.

    Raises:
        ValueError: If video_url is invalid or api_key is missing
        yt_dlp.DownloadError: If video download fails
        aai.TranscriptError: If transcription fails
    """
    if not video_url or not api_key:
        raise ValueError("Both video_url and api_key are required")

    # Configure yt-dlp options
    ydl_opts = {
        'format': 'm4a/bestaudio/best',
        'outtmpl': '%(id)s.%(ext)s',
        'postprocessors': [{
            'key': 'FFmpegExtractAudio',
            'preferredcodec': 'm4a',
        }]
    }

    try:
        # Download and extract audio
        with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
            info = ydl.extract_info(video_url, download=False)
            video_id = info['id']

            # Check if file already exists
            audio_file = f"{video_id}.m4a"
            if not os.path.exists(audio_file):
                ydl.download([video_url])
            else:
                print(f"Audio file {audio_file} already exists, skipping download")

        # Configure AssemblyAI
        aai.settings.api_key = api_key

        # Transcribe with error handling
        transcriber = aai.Transcriber()
        transcript = transcriber.transcribe(audio_file)

        if transcript.status == aai.TranscriptStatus.error:
            raise Exception(f"Transcription failed: {transcript.error}")

        return transcript.text

    except yt_dlp.DownloadError as e:
        raise Exception(f"Failed to download video: {str(e)}")
    except Exception as e:
        raise Exception(f"Transcription error: {str(e)}")
    finally:
        # Optional: cleanup downloaded file
        if 'audio_file' in locals() and os.path.exists(audio_file):
            # os.remove(audio_file)  # Uncomment to auto-delete
            pass

Structural Improvements

1. Better Section Organization

Current Issue: Quickstart appears before step-by-step explanation Fix: Restructure as:

# Get YouTube Video Transcripts with yt-dlp

## Overview
Brief explanation of what this guide covers and use cases

## Prerequisites
System requirements and setup

## Quick Start
Simple working example

## Detailed Guide
### Option 1: CLI Approach
### Option 2: Python Script Approach

## Advanced Features
## Troubleshooting
## FAQ

2. Improved Code Examples

Issue: Hardcoded values and missing context Fix: Add more realistic, configurable examples:

config.py

import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY = os.getenv("ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY")
if not ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("Please set ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY environment variable")

# main.py
from config import ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY

def main():
    # Example with multiple videos
    video_urls = [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtolixa9XTg",
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=another_video_id"
    ]

    for url in video_urls:
        try:
            transcript = transcribe_youtube_video(url, ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY)
            print(f"Transcript for {url}:")
            print(transcript[:500] + "..." if len(transcript) > 500 else transcript)
            print("-" * 50)
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"Failed to transcribe {url}: {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Missing Advanced Features

1. Configuration Options

Add section explaining AssemblyAI transcription options:

# Advanced transcription configuration
transcriber = aai.Transcriber()
config = aai.TranscriptionConfig(
    speaker_labels=True,  # Identify different speakers
    auto_chapters=True,   # Generate chapter summaries
    sentiment_analysis=True,  # Analyze sentiment
    entity_detection=True,    # Detect named entities
    language_code="en"        # Specify language
)
transcript = transcriber.transcribe(audio_file, config=config)

2. Batch Processing

def transcribe_playlist(playlist_url: str, api_key: str) -> dict:
    """Transcribe all videos in a YouTube playlist"""
    # Implementation for playlist handling
    pass

User Experience Pain Points

1. No Progress Indication

Issue: Users don’t know if long downloads/transcriptions are working Fix: Add progress callbacks:

def progress_hook(d):
    if d['status'] == 'downloading':
        print(f"Downloading: {d.get('_percent_str', 'N/A')} complete")
    elif d['status'] == 'finished':
        print(f"Downloaded: {d['filename']}")

ydl_opts['progress_hooks'] = [progress_hook]

2. Missing Troubleshooting Section

Add comprehensive troubleshooting:

## Troubleshooting

### Common Issues

**Error: "ffmpeg not found"**
- Solution: Install FFmpeg (see Prerequisites section)

**Error: "Video unavailable"**
- Check if video is public and accessible
- Some videos may be geo-restricted

**Error: "API key invalid"**
- Verify your AssemblyAI API key at [dashboard](https://assemblyai.com/dashboard)
- Ensure key has sufficient credits

**Large file transcription fails**
- AssemblyAI has file size limits (check current limits in dashboard)
- Consider using shorter video segments

3. No File Management Guidance

Issue: Downloaded files accumulate without cleanup guidance Fix: Add file management section:

import tempfile
import shutil

def transcribe_with_cleanup(video_url: str, api_key: str) -> str:
    """Transcribe video and automatically cleanup downloaded files"""
    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
        # Configure to download in temp directory
        ydl_opts = {
            'format': 'm4a/bestaudio/best',
            'outtmpl': f'{temp_dir}/%(id)s.%(ext)s',
            # ... rest of config
        }
        # ... transcription logic
        # Files automatically deleted when function exits

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