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 SSA
Converting a .sami file to .ssa 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 SubStation Alpha subtitles
Converting a .sami file to .ssa 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.
An .ssa file is a SubStation Alpha subtitle script — the v4.00 predecessor of Advanced SubStation Alpha. It uses the same [Script Info] / styles / [Events] layout and the same Dialogue timing, with a smaller style table and no v4+ extensions. For this route the practical draw is still rendered by every libass-based player decades later and simpler than the v4+ revision, so easier to parse and hand-edit — balanced against superseded by .ass, which every current authoring tool writes instead, which is worth knowing before you commit a large batch.
Why convert SAMI to SSA?
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 .ssa buys you still rendered by every libass-based player decades later, which is why it is the better fit for reading subtitle scripts from late-1990s and early-2000s releases. Because the conversion runs locally, trying it costs nothing but a few seconds of compute on your own machine.
SAMI vs SSA at a glance
| Aspect | SAMI captions (.sami) | SubStation Alpha subtitles (.ssa) |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | the [V4 Styles] section uses TertiaryColour and AlphaLevel fields that the later [V4+ Styles] table replaced |
| Strongest at | storing SAMI captions where .smi would collide with SMIL files | reading subtitle scripts from late-1990s and early-2000s releases |
| Weak spot | some players recognise only .smi and must be given a renamed copy | superseded by .ass, which every current authoring tool writes instead |
| Metadata | as with .smi, the style block and language classes describe presentation; only cue timing and text are carried into other formats | the v4 style table and script headers describe presentation only; timing and text survive conversion, styling does not |
Pick SSA as the output
Select .ssa in the output menu next to each file. The menu only offers targets this engine can genuinely produce, so if SSA 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 SSA file. Outputs keep the original filename with the .ssa extension.
SAMI to SSA questions, answered
Will converting SAMI to SSA lose quality?
There is no visual quality to lose — sami is text-oriented and ssa 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 SSA file work?
VLC, mpv, and other libass-based players handle .ssa alongside .ass, and Aegisub opens it for editing. No browser renders it. Novus Convert parses the v4 events locally through the same cue model as .ass and exports to any of the twelve timed-text targets.
Will the SSA file be bigger or smaller than my SAMI?
It depends on the content: the [V4 Styles] section uses TertiaryColour and AlphaLevel fields that the later [V4+ Styles] table replaced. 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 SSA back to SAMI?
Yes — the reverse route exists as a separate tool. Bear in mind that round-tripping .sami → .ssa → .sami is not a perfect undo when any lossy step is involved; keep your original if fidelity matters.