Transcription stalls on long audio files (45+ minutes)

[hyper-charlie]

Description

Transcription process initiates but stalls indefinitely on longer audio files (45+ minutes). The "transcribing" progress bar appears but freezes and never completes.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Upload an audio file 45+ minutes long (MP3 or similar format)
2. Wait for transcription to start
3. Observe the "transcribiendo" progress bar freezes and never completes

Expected Behavior

Transcription should complete successfully for long audio files, as it has in the past.

Actual Behavior

• Transcription bar appears and indicates progress ("transcribiendo")
• Progress bar stalls and freezes indefinitely
• Transcript never generates (shows "no transcript yet")
• Shorter files (45 min or less) transcribe successfully
• This issue has been occurring for at least 6 days

Environment

• Platform: macOS 14.2.1 Sonoma
• App Version: 1.0.22
• Audio formats tested: MP3
• File duration: 45+ minutes (reproducible on multiple files)

Notes

• Some 45-minute files transcribe successfully
• Other 45-minute files with same format fail to transcribe
• Longer files (1h 50m) consistently fail
• MP3 files that transcribed successfully 6 days ago now fail

[hyper-charlie]

Additional Details from User Testing

User has provided specific reproduction cases:

Audio 1 (FAILED):

• Duration: 1h 40min
• Format: MP3
• Status: Transcription bar freezes and stalls, never completes
• Critical Note: This same file transcribed successfully 6 days ago, but now consistently fails
• Result: Audio player appears with play button, but no transcript generates

Audio 2 (SUCCESS):

• Duration: 45 minutes
• Format: M4A
• Status: Transcribed successfully

Audio 3 (FAILED):

• Duration: 45 minutes
• Format: M4A
• Status: Transcription bar freezes and stalls
• Note: Same duration and format as Audio 2, but fails to transcribe

Key Observations

1. Duration is not the sole factor — 45min M4A (Audio 2) works, but 45min M4A (Audio 3) fails
2. Format is not the sole factor — Both M4A and MP3 have success and failure cases
3. Regression confirmed — Audio 1 (MP3, 1h40min) transcribed 6 days ago but now fails consistently
4. Inconsistent behavior — Identical duration/format don't guarantee success

Possible causes to investigate:

• Specific audio codec/bitrate/channel combinations
• File-specific metadata or corruption
• Recent backend changes (occurred within last 6 days)
• Resource allocation or timeout threshold changes