Simulanics AI Labs Blog
Transcribing Audio from Video Files Using Python
Introduction
Transcription is the process of converting spoken language into written text. While it might seem straightforward, the applications and importance of this technology are far-reaching and significant in today’s data-driven world. Transcribing audio can be invaluable in fields such as journalism, legal services, customer support, and academic research, among many others.
Why Is Transcription Important?
- Accessibility: Transcripts make content more accessible to people with hearing impairments.
- Data Analysis: Transcribed text can be easier to analyze, sort, and search through compared to audio or video formats.
- Content Discovery: It enhances SEO capabilities, making it easier for people to find your content.
- Multilingual Services: Transcripts can be translated into multiple languages more readily than audio.
- Learning and Development: It can be used in educational settings for better retention and understanding of the content.
The Code
To begin, we need to install the required Python libraries. Run the following command:
pip install pydub speechrecognition moviepy
Code Breakdown
Here is a breakdown of the code, section by section:
Importing Libraries
import argparse
import speech_recognition as sr
import os
from pydub import AudioSegment
from pydub.silence import split_on_silence
import moviepy.editor as mp
This section imports all the required libraries. argparse
for command line arguments, speech_recognition
for converting audio to text, pydub
for audio manipulation, and moviepy
for video editing.
Function: video_to_audio
def video_to_audio(in_path):
“””Convert video file to audio file”””
This function takes a video file path as input and converts it into an audio file (WAV format).
Function: large_audio_to_text
def large_audio_to_text(path):
“””Split audio into chunks and apply speech recognition”””
Here, the audio is divided into chunks, making it easier for the speech recognition engine to process it. Each chunk is transcribed to text.
Main Execution
# Create a speech recognition object
r = sr.Recognizer()
# Video to audio to text
audio_path = video_to_audio(args.in_video)
result = large_audio_to_text(audio_path)
In the main part of the script, we use argparse
to get the video file from the command line. It’s then passed through the functions to finally get the transcribed text.
How to Use
To execute this script, use the following command:
python transcription.py video_name.mp4
Full Script Placeholder
If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to drop me a message.
Happy coding!