Add your SAMI file
Drop one or more .sami files onto the converter above, or browse for them. They load into browser memory only — nothing is uploaded, so there is no size-based pricing and no server queue.
SAMI to SBV
Converting a .sami file to .sbv extracts the document's content from its office package into a portable form. Free, private, and validated — the file never leaves your browser.
Private for supported formats — processed in your browser
Runs on your deviceConvert supported files
Drop SAMI files here
Batch files can each use a different output. Nothing uploads for local conversions.
Working inputs include camera RAW, browser-local audio/video, PDF, CBZ/CBR comics, office documents, ebooks, markup, 3D models, structured text, images, and archives.About converting SAMI captions to YouTube SBV subtitles
Converting a .sami file to .sbv extracts the document's content from its office package into a portable form. A .sami file is the same Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange caption document as .smi, written with the long form of the extension. The contents are identical — <SYNC Start=…> elements inside an HTML-like SAMI document — and the long extension is chosen mainly to avoid colliding with SMIL files, which also claim .smi.
A .sbv file is a SubViewer-style caption document used by YouTube's caption editor: each cue is a single line of start,end timings followed by the caption text on the next lines, separated by a blank line. It carries the same timed dialogue as SubRip but divides the two timestamps with a comma instead of an arrow. For this route the practical draw is accepted directly by YouTube's caption workflow and simpler than SubRip, with no index numbers to renumber after edits — balanced against almost no desktop or browser player plays .sbv directly, so conversion is usually required, which is worth knowing before you commit a large batch.
Why convert SAMI to SBV?
The practical trigger for this conversion is usually a mismatch: with .sami, some players recognise only .smi and must be given a renamed copy. Switching to .sbv buys you accepted directly by YouTube's caption workflow, which is why it is the better fit for downloading and re-uploading captions through YouTube's caption editor. Because the conversion runs locally, trying it costs nothing but a few seconds of compute on your own machine.
SAMI vs SBV at a glance
| Aspect | SAMI captions (.sami) | YouTube SBV subtitles (.sbv) |
|---|---|---|
| Format type | Text-based — characters and structure, so there is no visual quality loss | Text-based — characters and structure, so there is no visual quality loss |
| How it stores data | byte for byte the same format as .smi: <SAMI>, <HEAD> with a <STYLE> block, and <BODY> with SYNC elements | each cue is a timing line H:MM:SS.mmm,H:MM:SS.mmm followed by one or more text lines and a blank separator |
| Strongest at | storing SAMI captions where .smi would collide with SMIL files | downloading and re-uploading captions through YouTube's caption editor |
| Weak spot | some players recognise only .smi and must be given a renamed copy | almost no desktop or browser player plays .sbv directly, so conversion is usually required |
Pick SBV as the output
Select .sbv in the output menu next to each file. The menu only offers targets this engine can genuinely produce, so if SBV is selectable, the route is real and validated.
Convert on your device
Press Convert. The package is unzipped in memory and its XML content parsed locally; nothing is uploaded.
Verify and download
Each result is signature-checked before the download unlocks, so a failed encode can never masquerade as a valid SBV file. Outputs keep the original filename with the .sbv extension.
SAMI to SBV questions, answered
Will converting SAMI to SBV lose quality?
There is no visual quality to lose — sami is text-oriented and sbv is text-oriented, so the question is structural fidelity. Text, ordering, and basic structure are preserved; complex layout, embedded objects, and styling beyond the target's model are simplified.
Is it private to convert SAMI files here?
Yes — the .sami file is processed inside your browser tab and never uploaded. The package is unzipped in memory and its XML content parsed locally; nothing is uploaded. Close the tab and the file is gone from memory.
Where will the SBV file work?
YouTube's caption tools import and export .sbv directly, but most desktop and browser players expect SubRip or WebVTT, so .sbv is typically converted to .srt or .vtt for playback. Any text editor can open and edit it.
Will the SBV file be bigger or smaller than my SAMI?
It depends on the content: each cue is a timing line H:MM:SS.mmm,H:MM:SS.mmm followed by one or more text lines and a blank separator. Convert one representative file first and compare before batch-processing a large set.
What happens to the metadata in my SAMI file?
In .sami, as with .smi, the style block and language classes describe presentation; only cue timing and text are carried into other formats. Re-encoding through the browser pipeline does not carry embedded metadata into the output, which doubles as a privacy scrub — check the exported file if you specifically need tags preserved.
Can I convert SBV back to SAMI?
Yes — the reverse route exists as a separate tool. Bear in mind that round-tripping .sami → .sbv → .sami is not a perfect undo when any lossy step is involved; keep your original if fidelity matters.