Converts SubStation Alpha to SubRip. SSA is the predecessor of ASS with a smaller style model — the dialogue lines are structurally the same, which is why one reader handles both.
SSA and ASS are nearly the same file
[V4 Styles] with fewer fields, ASS uses [V4+ Styles] with more. The [Events] section — which is where the actual subtitles live — has the same Format line and the same Dialogue: rows in both.
Since all the styling is discarded on the way to SRT, the distinction disappears entirely in the output. A file labelled .ssa that is really .ass converts fine, and the reverse is also true.
Older files and encoding
What gets checked while converting
Cues out of order — some editors append late additions at the end of the file. They are sorted, and you are told it happened.
Zero-length or reversed cues — an end time at or before the start. Players skip these silently, so they are given a one-second duration instead.
Overlaps — two cues on screen at once. Left alone by default because some formats use it deliberately for speaker labels; there is an option to trim them.
Malformed blocks — anything without a readable timestamp is skipped and counted, rather than corrupting the cue numbering.
Other names for this
Also searched as “substation alpha to srt”.
Questions
- Is this different from the ASS converter?
- Only in name. The same parser reads both, because the Events section is identical.
- My Cyrillic or Japanese text is garbled.
- The file is in a legacy code page that cannot be detected from the bytes. Open it in a text editor, choose the right encoding, and re-save as UTF-8.
- Is my subtitle file uploaded?
- No. The parsing and rewriting happen in this tab. Subtitle files often contain an unreleased script or a client’s content, which is a good reason not to send them to a stranger’s server. Turn your Wi-Fi off and the tool keeps working.
- Can I convert several files at once?
- Yes — drop as many as you like, or a whole folder. Each keeps its original name with the new extension, and you can download them individually or as a ZIP.