Add your SSA file
Drop one or more .ssa 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.
SSA to SAMI
Converting a .ssa file to .sami 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 SSA 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 SubStation Alpha subtitles to SAMI captions
Converting a .ssa file to .sami extracts the document's content from its office package into a portable form. 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.
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. For this route the practical draw is unambiguous about which format the file actually is and identical tooling support to .smi wherever SAMI is recognised — balanced against some players recognise only .smi and must be given a renamed copy, which is worth knowing before you commit a large batch.
Why convert SSA to SAMI?
The practical trigger for this conversion is usually a mismatch: with .ssa, superseded by .ass, which every current authoring tool writes instead. Switching to .sami buys you unambiguous about which format the file actually is, which is why it is the better fit for storing SAMI captions where .smi would collide with SMIL files. Because the conversion runs locally, trying it costs nothing but a few seconds of compute on your own machine.
SSA vs SAMI at a glance
| Aspect | SubStation Alpha subtitles (.ssa) | SAMI captions (.sami) |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | the [V4 Styles] section uses TertiaryColour and AlphaLevel fields that the later [V4+ Styles] table replaced | byte for byte the same format as .smi: <SAMI>, <HEAD> with a <STYLE> block, and <BODY> with SYNC elements |
| Strongest at | reading subtitle scripts from late-1990s and early-2000s releases | storing SAMI captions where .smi would collide with SMIL files |
| Weak spot | superseded by .ass, which every current authoring tool writes instead | some players recognise only .smi and must be given a renamed copy |
| Metadata | the v4 style table and script headers describe presentation only; timing and text survive conversion, styling does not | as with .smi, the style block and language classes describe presentation; only cue timing and text are carried into other formats |
Pick SAMI as the output
Select .sami in the output menu next to each file. The menu only offers targets this engine can genuinely produce, so if SAMI 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 SAMI file. Outputs keep the original filename with the .sami extension.
SSA to SAMI questions, answered
Will converting SSA to SAMI lose quality?
There is no visual quality to lose — ssa is text-oriented and sami 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 SSA files here?
Yes — the .ssa 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 SAMI file work?
Players that read SAMI generally accept .sami as well, though a few match on .smi alone. Novus Convert treats the two identically, running the same hardened SAMI parser — no document types, no external entities, script and style content stripped — and exports any of the twelve timed-text targets.
Will the SAMI file be bigger or smaller than my SSA?
It depends on the content: byte for byte the same format as .smi: <SAMI>, <HEAD> with a <STYLE> block, and <BODY> with SYNC elements. Convert one representative file first and compare before batch-processing a large set.
What happens to the metadata in my SSA file?
In .ssa, the v4 style table and script headers describe presentation only; timing and text survive conversion, styling does not. 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 SAMI back to SSA?
Yes — the reverse route exists as a separate tool. Bear in mind that round-tripping .ssa → .sami → .ssa is not a perfect undo when any lossy step is involved; keep your original if fidelity matters.