How can I record both video and transcript in Google Meet for a notetaker?

Below is an outline of how you might approach building a notetaker that records both video and transcripts in Google Meet:

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Video Recording Approaches

1. Using a Browser Extension

   • Injection & Capture: Build a Chrome extension that injects code into the Google Meet page. You can access the media elements (for example, video and audio elements) of the meeting.
   • Screen/Window Capture: Use the MediaDevices.getDisplayMedia() API to capture the screen or window showing the meeting. This method allows you to record what you see and hear.
   • Recording API: Once you’re capturing the display, use the MediaRecorder API to record the stream and save it locally or upload it to a server.

   Example Code Snippet:

   JAVASCRIPTCopied
   async function startRecording() {
     const stream = await navigator.mediaDevices.getDisplayMedia({
       video: true,
       audio: true // include audio if needed
     });
     
     const options = { mimeType: 'video/webm; codecs=vp9' };
     const mediaRecorder = new MediaRecorder(stream, options);
     const recordedChunks = [];
   
     mediaRecorder.ondataavailable = event => {
       if (event.data.size > 0) {
         recordedChunks.push(event.data);
       }
     };
   
     mediaRecorder.onstop = () => {
       // Combine recorded chunks and save the file
       const blob = new Blob(recordedChunks, { type: 'video/webm' });
       const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
       // e.g., create a download link
       const a = document.createElement('a');
       a.href = url;
       a.download = 'meeting_recording.webm';
       a.click();
     };
   
     mediaRecorder.start();
     // Stop recording after a period or on an event:
     // mediaRecorder.stop();
   }

2. Using External Screen Recording Software
   Another option is to automate external screen recording tools (like OBS Studio) via scripts or APIs. This approach might require:

   • Programmatically launching OBS.
   • Controlling the recording session via OBS’s WebSockets or RPC calls.

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Transcription Approaches

1. Leverage Built-in Google Meet Transcripts:
   If Google Meet is already providing a transcript, you may need to capture or scrape that transcript. Note that you’ll need to respect privacy and terms of service.

2. Using the Web Speech API:
   Inject a script that leverages the browser’s Web Speech API to perform speech recognition on the meeting audio. Be aware that:

   • It might need to work from a pre-captured audio stream.
   • It may not be as accurate as the built-in transcript.

   Example Code Snippet:

   JAVASCRIPTCopied
   const SpeechRecognition = window.SpeechRecognition || window.webkitSpeechRecognition;
   const recognition = new SpeechRecognition();
   recognition.continuous = true;
   recognition.interimResults = true;
   recognition.lang = 'en-US';
   
   recognition.onresult = (event) => {
     let transcript = '';
     for (let i = event.resultIndex; i < event.results.length; i++) {
       transcript += event.results[i][0].transcript;
     }
     console.log("Transcription: ", transcript);
     // Optionally, output the transcript to the UI or save it
   };
   
   recognition.onerror = (event) => {
     console.error("Speech recognition error", event);
   };
   
   recognition.start();

3. Server-side Transcription:
   Alternatively, send captured audio segments to a server-side service (such as Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API) for more robust transcription. This can be useful if you require higher accuracy or multilingual support.

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Important Considerations

• Privacy & Legal Compliance:
  Automatically recording video and transcript data might violate user privacy or Google Meet’s Terms of Service. Ensure you have the proper permissions and legal basis before implementing such functionality.

• Performance & Resource Management:
  Recording in real time, especially within a browser context, can be resource-intensive. Testing on different machines and under different network conditions is crucial.

• Error Handling & Stability:
  Both screen capture and transcription processes can encounter issues (e.g., user permissions, browser restrictions). Robust error handling and clear UI cues will help with stability.

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This should give you a foundation to start from. Depending on your exact needs, you can choose between client-side recording via a browser extension using Web APIs or a mix of client/server approaches for more advanced features like high-quality transcription.

Below is an overview of a couple of strategies you might employ to build such a notetaker:

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1. Capturing the Video

a. Using a Chrome Extension or Browser Automation
One approach is to build a Chrome extension that leverages the Screen Capture API to record the meeting video. A Chrome extension can join the Google Meet meeting as a participant and then capture the screen (and optionally audio). You can use the MediaRecorder API to record the stream. For example:

JSCopied
// Example snippet for capturing screen
async function startRecording() {
  // Prompt user to select a screen or window to capture
  const stream = await navigator.mediaDevices.getDisplayMedia({
    video: { mediaSource: "screen" },
    audio: true // adjust as needed
  });
  
  // Create a MediaRecorder instance
  const options = { mimeType: "video/webm; codecs=vp9" };
  const mediaRecorder = new MediaRecorder(stream, options);
  const recordedChunks = [];

  mediaRecorder.ondataavailable = event => {
    if (event.data.size > 0) {
      recordedChunks.push(event.data);
    }
  };

  mediaRecorder.onstop = () => {
    const blob = new Blob(recordedChunks, { type: "video/webm" });
    // Here you can download or send the blob to your server
    const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
    const a = document.createElement("a");
    a.href = url;
    a.download = "recording.webm";
    a.click();
  };

  mediaRecorder.start();
  // Stop recording after a fixed time or via user action
}

Note that when building a Chrome extension to use this API, you may need to handle permission requests and user interactions carefully.

b. Using a Desktop Application or Automation Script
Alternatively, consider building a desktop application (or using existing tools like OBS Studio) that automates screen recording during the meeting. For instance, you could use a library like pyav with Python or even trigger ffmpeg to record a defined region (the meeting window/screen).

Example command using ffmpeg:

BASHCopied
ffmpeg -f x11grab -s 1920x1080 -i :0.0 -f pulse -i default output.mkv

This command would record the entire desktop; you’d need to adjust parameters to capture the desired window region or audio sources.

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2. Capturing the Transcript

a. Using Google Meet’s Built-In Transcripts
If you've already noted that Google Meet's transcript works well, you might automate capturing the displayed transcript using page scraping or chrome extension content scripts. For example, a content script could listen for changes to the transcript element in the DOM:

JSCopied
// Content script to capture live transcript from Google Meet
const transcriptObserver = new MutationObserver((mutations) => {
  mutations.forEach((mutation) => {
    // Look for added nodes in the transcript container
    if (mutation.addedNodes.length) {
      mutation.addedNodes.forEach((node) => {
        console.log("Transcript update: ", node.innerText);
        // Once captured, send this to a backend or save it as needed
      });
    }
  });
});

// Suppose the transcript container has a selector, e.g., '.transcript-container'
const transcriptContainer = document.querySelector('.transcript-container');
if (transcriptContainer) {
  transcriptObserver.observe(transcriptContainer, { childList: true, subtree: true });
}

b. Using Speech-to-Text Services
Another alternative is to record the audio separately and leverage a speech-to-text API (such as Google Cloud Speech-to-Text) to generate a transcript. This way, you are independent of Google Meet’s transcript feature. You would capture the audio along with the video and then process the audio file:

PYTHONCopied
# Example Python snippet using the Google Cloud Speech API
import io
from google.cloud import speech

def transcribe_audio(speech_file):
    client = speech.SpeechClient()
    
    with io.open(speech_file, "rb") as audio_file:
        content = audio_file.read()
    
    audio = speech.RecognitionAudio(content=content)
    config = speech.RecognitionConfig(
        encoding=speech.RecognitionConfig.AudioEncoding.LINEAR16,
        sample_rate_hertz=44100,
        language_code="en-US",
    )

    response = client.recognize(config=config, audio=audio)

    transcript = ""
    for result in response.results:
        transcript += result.alternatives[0].transcript + "\n"
    
    return transcript

# Usage
# transcript = transcribe_audio("path_to_audio.wav")

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Considerations

• Privacy & Legal: Before recording any meeting, ensure all participants are aware of and consent to the recording. Make sure to comply with Google Meet policies and local regulations.
• Session Management: If you're joining a meeting as an extra participant (through a chrome extension or bot), you need to handle sessions, account login (if required), and any user interactions.
• Reliability: Third-party automation (especially DOM scraping) may break if Google updates the UI of Google Meet. Using officially supported APIs reduces this risk.

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By combining a recording solution (via a Chrome extension, desktop app, or automation through tools like ffmpeg) for the video, along with either leveraging the built-in transcript or processing audio via a speech-to-text service, you can build a robust notetaker for Google Meet meetings.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions on any specific part of the implementation!