SSA to TTML Subtitle Converter
Transform SubStation Alpha subtitles into basic TTML privately in your browser.
Drag & drop your SSA file here
or click to browse
Supports .ssa files up to 50 MB
Free Online SSA to TTML Converter
Our SSA to TTML converter reads SubStation Alpha input and produces a basic Timed Text Markup Language document entirely in your browser. Source SSA timing becomes second-based begin and end attributes such as 1.500s. SSA override tags are stripped, XML special characters are escaped, and line breaks become <br/> elements. The conversion runs client-side, so your subtitle files are never uploaded to a server.
SSA to TTML Code Syntax & Structure Inspection
Side-by-side code inspection illustrating header definitions, timestamp syntax, and cue payload formatting
SSA vs TTML Technical Specifications
SSA
SSA (SubStation Alpha v4) is the predecessor to ASS and shares the same section-based structure: [Script Info], [V4 Styles], and [Events] with Dialogue lines. SSA supports fonts, colors, and basic positioning but predates some ASS additions such as blur. Because SSA and ASS use the same Dialogue layout, they are parsed identically.
TTML
TTML (Timed Text Markup Language) is a W3C XML subtitle format. This converter emits a basic UTF-8 document with a default TTML namespace, xml:lang="en", body and div elements, and <p> cues using second-based begin and end attributes. It does not add IMSC, ITT, or broadcaster profile metadata.
Format Differences
Conversion Troubleshooting & Gotchas
Practical solutions for player compatibility, character encoding, and timing synchronization
Subtitle timing drifts or appears out of sync on media players
Video files frequently differ in framerate (e.g., 23.976 fps vs 25 fps). If the timing drifts steadily, use our Subtitle Sync tool to adjust the global offset or framerate stretch.
Characters appear as garbled symbols or question marks (Mojibake)
Legacy files saved in Windows-1252, Shift-JIS, or GBK may render incorrectly. Our exporter standardizes output to clean UTF-8. Use our Subtitle Encoding Converter if the source file is corrupted.
Overlapping captions when multiple speakers talk simultaneously
Different formats handle overlapping dialogue differently. If your target player cannot render stacked cues cleanly, open the file in our Subtitle Editor to adjust individual cue timings.
Video editing software (Premiere, DaVinci, Final Cut) rejects the file
Professional NLE software enforces strict syntax rules. Our converter eliminates malformed line breaks and non-standard tags, producing clean, standardized files.
Features
Why Convert?
Common Use Cases
Streaming Delivery
Create a basic TTML starting point for tools that ingest timed-text XML.
Professional Interchange
Use TTML as a structured interchange format for XML-based timed-text workflows.
IMSC / ITT Profiles
Generate basic TTML that downstream tooling can validate and profile as required.
Related Formats
SRT (SubRip)
The universal plain-text alternative: convert to SRT for maximum device compatibility.
VTT (WebVTT)
The web alternative: convert to VTT if your target is HTML5 video or YouTube.
SCC (Scenarist Closed Captioning)
The North American broadcast alternative: convert to SCC for CEA-608 caption delivery.
How It Works
- 1
Upload your .ssa file by dragging it in or browsing.
- 2
The parser reads the SubStation Alpha structure and extracts each cue's start, end, and text.
- 3
Source SSA timing is converted to second-based begin and end attributes.
- 4
Override tags are stripped, XML special characters are escaped, and line breaks become <br/> tags.
- 5
The output .ttml file is generated and ready to download.
More Subtitle Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
It reads a SubStation Alpha file, parses each cue's timing and text, and writes a basic UTF-8 TTML document with second-based begin and end attributes, escaped text, and <br/> line breaks.
Absolutely. Every conversion runs client-side in your browser. No subtitle data, file contents, or metadata is ever transmitted to a server.
Yes. SSA styling and override tags are dropped. XML special characters are escaped and line breaks become <br/> tags; timing is converted to TTML expressions.
Yes, completely free with no sign-up, no watermarks, and files up to 50 MB each. All processing happens in your browser, so your files are never uploaded to a server.
Source SSA timing (H:MM:SS.cc centiseconds) is converted to TTML timing (seconds (1.500s) or clock values).
Yes. The responsive page works in modern mobile browsers.
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