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LiveTranscribe Operator

Overview

Section titled “Overview”

The LiveTranscribe operator provides real-time speech-to-text capabilities within TouchDesigner. It processes audio input and converts spoken words into text, which can be used for various interactive applications, logging, or further processing.

It offers two primary modes of operation:

  1. Local Whisper: Utilizes OpenAI’s Whisper models running directly on your machine. This offers privacy and potentially lower latency but requires a capable local machine (especially GPU for larger models).
  2. AssemblyAI Cloud Service: Leverages AssemblyAI’s powerful transcription API. This requires an internet connection and an AssemblyAI API key (streaming service is paid), but offers high accuracy and potentially handles scaling better.

LiveTranscribe Operator UI

Installation

Section titled “Installation”

Follow these steps to install the necessary dependencies for LiveTranscribe:

  1. Set Base Folder: Go to the Setup tab and specify a Base Folder. This is where the Python virtual environment (venv) and required libraries will be installed. It’s recommended to create a dedicated folder (e.g., D:/TD-Tools/LiveTranscribe-Install).
  2. Install Service:
    • For Local Whisper: Click the Install Whisper button.
    • For AssemblyAI: Click the Install AssemblyAI button.
  3. Confirm Installation: A popup will confirm the libraries to be installed. Click the confirmation button (Install or similar) to proceed. The operator will create the virtual environment and install packages. This might take some time.
  4. (Windows CUDA Users): If using local Whisper with an NVIDIA GPU and you haven’t used CUDNN before, download the appropriate CUDNN version for your CUDA Toolkit (11.8 or 12.1) from the NVIDIA CUDNN Archive. Copy the contents (bin, lib, include folders) from the downloaded CUDNN archive into your CUDA Toolkit installation directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\CUDA\v12.1\).
  5. (macOS Users): The installer will attempt to install PortAudio using Homebrew if it’s not found.

Once installation is complete, the respective install button on the Setup page will become disabled.

Parameters

Section titled “Parameters”

Controls Page

Section titled “Controls Page”
Status (Status) op('live_transcribe').par.Status Str
Default:
Server status updated: Active
Server Active (Active) op('live_transcribe').par.Active Toggle
Default:
On
Server is Listening (Listening) op('live_transcribe').par.Listening Toggle
Default:
On
Speech2Text Realtime Transcription Main Controls Header
Listen / Stream (Listen) op('live_transcribe').par.Listen Toggle
Default:
On
Confidence (Confidence) op('live_transcribe').par.Confidence Float
Default:
0
End Session (Endsession) op('live_transcribe').par.Endsession Pulse
Default:
None
Session (Session) op('live_transcribe').par.Session Str
Default:
None
Last Chunk (Chunk) op('live_transcribe').par.Chunk Str
Default:
None
Launch Server (Launch) op('live_transcribe').par.Launch Pulse
Default:
None
Auto Listen / Connect (Autolisten) op('live_transcribe').par.Autolisten Toggle
Default:
On
Shutdown Server (Shutdown) op('live_transcribe').par.Shutdown Pulse
Default:
None
Use Avoid List (Useavoidlist) op('live_transcribe').par.Useavoidlist Toggle
Default:
Off
Avoid List (Avoidlist) op('live_transcribe').par.Avoidlist Str
Default:
None
Context [ word bank ] (Initialprompt) op('live_transcribe').par.Initialprompt Str
Default:
None
Input Audio Device Selection Header
Select Input (Inputs) op('live_transcribe').par.Inputs Menu
Default:
6
Options:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Last Input (Lastinput) op('live_transcribe').par.Lastinput Str
Default:
5
Connect to Last Input (Connecttolast) op('live_transcribe').par.Connecttolast Toggle
Default:
On
Session Selection [ out1 ] Header
Select Last (Selectlast) op('live_transcribe').par.Selectlast Toggle
Default:
On
Select From History (Selectresponse) op('live_transcribe').par.Selectresponse Int
Default:
1
Update Selection Slider (Updateslider) op('live_transcribe').par.Updateslider Toggle
Default:
On
Total Sessions (Totalsessions) op('live_transcribe').par.Totalsessions Int
Default:
1
Total Cost [ assemblyai ] (Totalcost) op('live_transcribe').par.Totalcost Str
Default:
0.000000

Whisper Settings Page

Section titled “Whisper Settings Page”
Speech2Text Whisper Settings Header
Use Local (Uselocal) op('live_transcribe').par.Uselocal Toggle
Default:
On
Whisper Model (Localmodel) op('live_transcribe').par.Localmodel Menu
Default:
medium
Options:
tiny, tiny.en, base, base.en, small, small.en, medium, medium.en, large-v2, large-v3
Language (Language) op('live_transcribe').par.Language Menu
Default:
en
Options:
en, zh, de, es, ru, ko, fr, ja, pt, tr, pl, ca, nl, ar, sv, it, id, hi, fi, vi, he, uk, el, ms, cs, ro, da, hu, ta, no, th, ur, hr, bg, lt, la, mi, ml, cy, sk, te, fa, lv, bn, sr, az, sl, kn, et, mk, br, eu, is, hy, ne, mn, bs, kk, sq, sw, gl, mr, pa, si, km, sn, yo, so, af, oc, ka, be, tg, sd, gu, am, yi, lo, uz, fo, ht, ps, tk, nn, mt, sa, lb, my, bo, tl, mg, as, tt, haw, ln, ha, ba, jw, su, yue
Finalize After (Finalizeafter) op('live_transcribe').par.Finalizeafter Float
Default:
0.381
Translate (Translate) op('live_transcribe').par.Translate Toggle
Default:
Off
Use VAD (Usevad) op('live_transcribe').par.Usevad Toggle
Default:
On
VAD Threshold (Vadthreshold) op('live_transcribe').par.Vadthreshold Float
Default:
0.5
Range:
0 to 1
Keep Server Alive (Keepserveralive) op('live_transcribe').par.Keepserveralive Toggle
Default:
Off
Max Connection Seconds (Maxconnectiontime) op('live_transcribe').par.Maxconnectiontime Int
Default:
7200
Local File Speech2Text Transcription Header
Transcribe File (Transcribefile) op('live_transcribe').par.Transcribefile Pulse
Default:
None
File (File) op('live_transcribe').par.File File
Default:
None

Setup Page

Section titled “Setup Page”
LiveTranscribe Readme (Readme) op('live_transcribe').par.Readme Pulse
Default:
None
I/O Settings Header
OSC Address (Oscip) op('live_transcribe').par.Oscip Str
Default:
127.0.0.1
OSC In Port (Oscinport) op('live_transcribe').par.Oscinport Int
Default:
9086
OSC Out Port (Oscoutport) op('live_transcribe').par.Oscoutport Int
Default:
8986
Whisper Port [ local ] (Whisperport) op('live_transcribe').par.Whisperport Int
Default:
9151
AssemblyAI Streaming API Header
AssemblyAI API key (Apikey) op('live_transcribe').par.Apikey Str
Default:
stored in Basefolder/config.json
Get AssemblyAI API Key (Getapikey) op('live_transcribe').par.Getapikey Pulse
Default:
None
Python Installation Header
Base Folder (Basefolder) op('live_transcribe').par.Basefolder Folder
Default:
D:/TD-tox/LiveTranscribe
Install AssemblyAI (Installassembly) op('live_transcribe').par.Installassembly Pulse
Default:
None
Install Whisper (Installwhisper) op('live_transcribe').par.Installwhisper Pulse
Default:
None
Current Transcript History [ realtime sessions + transcripts ] Header
Save Transcript File (Savetranscript) op('live_transcribe').par.Savetranscript Pulse
Default:
None
Transcript File (Transcriptfile) op('live_transcribe').par.Transcriptfile File
Default:
None
Load Transcript File (Loadtranscriptfile) op('live_transcribe').par.Loadtranscriptfile Pulse
Default:
None
New Transcript File (Newtranscriptfile) op('live_transcribe').par.Newtranscriptfile Pulse
Default:
None

Callbacks Page

Section titled “Callbacks Page”
Callback DAT (Callbackdat) op('live_transcribe').par.Callbackdat DAT
Default:
None
Edit Callbacks (Editcallbacksscript) op('live_transcribe').par.Editcallbacksscript Pulse
Default:
None
Create Callbacks (Callbackcreatepulse) op('live_transcribe').par.Callbackcreatepulse Pulse
Default:
None
onTranscriptPartial (Ontranscriptpartial) op('live_transcribe').par.Ontranscriptpartial Toggle
Default:
On
onTranscriptFinal (Ontranscriptfinal) op('live_transcribe').par.Ontranscriptfinal Toggle
Default:
On
onSessionStart (Onsessionstart) op('live_transcribe').par.Onsessionstart Toggle
Default:
On
onSessionEnd (Onsessionend) op('live_transcribe').par.Onsessionend Toggle
Default:
On
onServerReady (Onserverready) op('live_transcribe').par.Onserverready Toggle
Default:
On
onFileTranscript (Onfiletranscript) op('live_transcribe').par.Onfiletranscript Toggle
Default:
On
Textport Debug Callbacks (Debugcallbacks) op('live_transcribe').par.Debugcallbacks Menu
Default:
None
Options:
None, Errors Only, Basic Info, Full Details

About Page

Section titled “About Page”
Bypass (Bypass) op('live_transcribe').par.Bypass Toggle
Default:
Off
Show Built-in Parameters (Showbuiltin) op('live_transcribe').par.Showbuiltin Toggle
Default:
Off
Version (Version) op('live_transcribe').par.Version Str
Default:
0.1.8
Last Updated (Lastupdated) op('live_transcribe').par.Lastupdated Str
Default:
2025-05-03
Creator (Creator) op('live_transcribe').par.Creator Str
Default:
dotsimulate
Website (Website) op('live_transcribe').par.Website Str
Default:
https://dotsimulate.com
ChatTD Operator (Chattd) op('live_transcribe').par.Chattd OP
Default:
/dot_lops/ChatTD
Show Logs (Showlogs) op('live_transcribe').par.Showlogs Menu
Default:
All Logs
Options:
Basic, All Logs, Errors Only

Callbacks

Section titled “Callbacks”

LiveTranscribe provides callbacks to react to transcription events.

Available Callbacks:
  • onTranscriptPartial
  • onTranscriptFinal
  • onSessionStart
  • onSessionEnd
  • onServerReady
  • onFileTranscript

The info dictionary passed to each callback contains relevant details. For example:

  • onTranscriptPartial / onTranscriptFinal: info['transcript'] (full text), info['chunk'] (latest segment), info['status'], info['session_id'], info['confidence'].
  • onSessionStart / onSessionEnd: info['session_id'], info['status'].
  • onServerReady: info['server_status'] (boolean).
  • onFileTranscript: info['transcript'], info['session_id'] (filename), info['json_file'] (path to detailed results).

Usage Examples

Section titled “Usage Examples”

Basic Local Whisper Transcription

Section titled “Basic Local Whisper Transcription”
  1. Complete the Installation steps for Whisper.
  2. Go to the Whisper Settings page.
  3. Ensure Use Local is On.
  4. Select a Whisper Model (e.g., base.en or medium.en for a balance of speed and accuracy).
  5. Go to the Controls page.
  6. Pulse Launch Server.
  7. Select your desired audio input device from the Select Input menu.
  8. Toggle Listen / Stream On.
  9. Speak into your microphone. Transcriptions will appear in the Session and Last Chunk fields, and trigger callbacks if enabled.
  10. Toggle Listen / Stream Off to stop.
  11. Pulse Shutdown Server when finished.

Basic AssemblyAI Transcription

Section titled “Basic AssemblyAI Transcription”
  1. Complete the Installation steps for AssemblyAI.
  2. Go to the Setup page and enter your AssemblyAI API key.
  3. Go to the Whisper Settings page and ensure Use Local is Off.
  4. Go to the Controls page.
  5. Pulse Launch Server.
  6. Select your desired audio input device from the Select Input menu.
  7. Toggle Listen / Stream On.
  8. Speak into your microphone.
  9. Toggle Listen / Stream Off to stop.
  10. Pulse Shutdown Server when finished.

Technical Notes

Section titled “Technical Notes”
  • Resource Usage: Local Whisper models, especially larger ones, require significant CPU/GPU resources and VRAM. Monitor system performance.
  • AssemblyAI Costs: The AssemblyAI streaming service is paid. Monitor your usage and costs on the AssemblyAI dashboard. The Total Cost parameter provides an estimate only.
  • Network Ports: Ensure the specified OSC and Whisper ports are not blocked by firewalls.
  • Python Environment: All dependencies are installed within a dedicated virtual environment located in the Base Folder to avoid conflicts.
Section titled “Related Operators”