SubtitleMedic

Convert ASS to SRT

Turn styled ASS or SSA subtitles into plain SubRip that every TV and player reads.

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How to convert ASS to SRT

  1. Open your .ass or .ssa file

    Drop one Advanced SubStation Alpha file into the box above, or click to browse. It’s read by your browser and never uploaded.

  2. Check what is removed

    A notice says how many styles, positions and effects SubRip can’t keep, and the preview shows the script before and the plain subtitles after.

  3. Download the .srt file

    Save the converted file. It keeps the original name with the new extension, so episode-01.ass becomes episode-01.srt.

Why ASS files don’t play everywhere

Advanced SubStation Alpha is less a subtitle format than a small typesetting language. It came out of fan translation, where a subtitle had to do more than repeat the dialogue: translate a shop sign in the same place and colour as the original, or follow song lyrics syllable by syllable.

A script, not a list. An .ass file opens with [Script Info], which sets the video size the script was designed for, then [V4+ Styles], a table of named styles with a font, a size, four colours, an outline, a shadow and margins. Only after that come the [Events]: one Dialogue: line per subtitle, each pointing at a style.

Override codes. Inside a line, codes in curly braces change the look for part of the text: {\i1} for italic, {\pos(960,120)} to place it, {\fad(200,200)} to fade it, {\k40} for karaoke timing. A renderer such as libass turns all of this into pixels.

Players without a renderer. VLC, mpv and MPC-HC include one. Most smart TVs, game consoles, phones, web players and video editors don’t. They either skip the file or show its text with the codes left in. SubRip is what they all read.

What the conversion does

Keeps the words and the timing. Every Dialogue: line becomes a numbered SubRip block. ASS writes time in hundredths of a second (0:01:02.34), and SubRip in thousandths (00:01:02,340); the moment is the same.

Keeps italic, bold and underline. {\i1}, {\b1} and {\u1} become <i>, <b> and <u>, which SubRip players show.

Turns line breaks into real ones. A hard break \N becomes a new line, a soft break \n becomes a space, and \h becomes a non-breaking space.

Removes the rest, and counts it. The script info and the style table are dropped. Each line that used a style other than Default, and each block of override codes other than italic, bold or underline, counts as one formatting item. Comment lines, which translators use for notes, are left out and counted too. The total is shown above the Download button, so nothing disappears silently.

Tips for a clean conversion

Expect signs at the bottom. A typeset sign becomes an ordinary line. If a file is heavy with signs and effects, read through the preview: you may prefer to delete a few lines in a text editor afterwards rather than have them cover the dialogue.

Keep the .ass file. The conversion can’t be reversed, since the styles are gone. Keep the original for players that can show it, and use the .srt for the devices that can’t.

Need it for a web page instead? Browsers want WebVTT, not SubRip. Convert ASS to VTT goes there in one step.

Subtitles out of sync as well? Converting never changes the timing. If the lines are early or late against your copy of the video, fix them with Shift Subtitle Timing. If letters look garbled in the preview, pick the right encoding next to the file name, or use Fix Subtitle Encoding.

Frequently asked questions

What is lost when I convert ASS to SRT?

Everything that makes an ASS file look designed, such as fonts, colours, outlines, positions, rotation and karaoke effects. SubRip can only hold text, timing and simple italic, bold and underline. The dialogue and its timing are kept exactly, and the tool shows how many formatting items are removed before you download.

Does this work with .ssa files too?

Yes. SubStation Alpha (.ssa) is the older version of the same format, and both are read here. Either one is saved as a .srt file with the same name.

Why does my TV show codes like {\an8} or no subtitles at all with an .ass file?

Most TVs and many apps don’t have an ASS renderer. Some ignore the file, others treat it as plain text and print the override codes on screen. A SubRip file has no such codes, so it shows as ordinary subtitles everywhere.

What happens to signs and song lyrics?

They stay in the file as normal lines, because SubRip has no way to place text at the top or over a sign. When a sign and a line of dialogue are on screen together, the player stacks them at the bottom. Lines marked as Comment in the ASS file were never shown and are left out.

Are my subtitle files uploaded anywhere?

No. The file is read and converted by JavaScript in this browser tab. It never leaves your device, and the tool keeps working if you go offline after the page has loaded.

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