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ASS to EBU-STL converter, without the upload.

Turn ASS subtitles into EBU-STL. It is converted in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.

Drop ASS files here

or choose from your computer paste with Ctrl V

Ready · several at once0 bytes uploaded, ever

Convert to

How to convert ASS to EBU-STL

  1. Add your ASS subtitles

    Drop ASS (SSA, SubStation Alpha) files onto the box above, or click it to choose them. ToAny reads the file's contents to detect the type, so a wrong extension does not matter.

  2. EBU-STL is already chosen

    Press Convert. There is nothing else to set. The work happens in this tab.

  3. Download

    Save the EBU-STL, or download everything as one ZIP if you converted several files.

Why ToAny

  • Private by construction

    The ASS to EBU-STL converter is part of this page and runs inside your browser. Your subtitles are never sent to ToAny or to anyone else.

  • No upload, no queue

    Nothing has to travel to a server and back, so the conversion starts the moment you press Convert, even on a slow connection.

  • Free, without an account

    No sign-up, no email address and no watermark. Add several files and download them together as a ZIP.

ASS to EBU-STL: what to expect

ASS styling is not understood by simple players, and it is lost when converting to plain formats. EBU STL is the file European broadcasters ask for when subtitles are delivered with a programme. ASS is at home in anime and karaoke subtitles with fonts, colours and positioning; EBU-STL is the usual choice for subtitles delivered to European broadcasters.

The text is read as UTF-8 or UTF-16, whichever the file is. An older file in another code page is read using the charset it declares, or as Windows-1252 if it declares none, so accented letters in an unlabelled legacy file can come out wrong. A file that is not text, such as the picture-based subtitles of a DVD, is refused instead of being converted to nonsense. Of the styling, only italic, bold, underline and the position on screen (top, middle or bottom, left, centre or right) travel between formats; fonts, colours, outlines and effects do not. Each line takes its italic, bold, underline and alignment from its style and from override tags; drawing commands and karaoke effects are ignored. The file is written as STL25.01 in the Latin character set, 25 frames per second, with italics, underline, line breaks, position and justification. Characters outside the character set become a question mark.

ASS vs EBU-STL

ASS

ASS/SSA subtitles

ASS adds styles to subtitles: fonts, colours, outlines, shadows, exact screen positions and animation effects. Fan-subbed anime and karaoke use it heavily. SSA is the earlier version, and the .ssa extension is read as the same format.

Opens in VLC, mpv, Aegisub and most fan-subtitling and media-server software; not browsers

ASS converter
EBU-STL

EBU STL subtitles

EBU STL, defined in EBU Tech 3264, is the binary subtitle file of European broadcasters: a 1024-byte header followed by 128-byte blocks, each holding the in and out timecodes, position, justification and teletext-style text of one subtitle. It is usually named .stl, which is also the extension of 3D printing files, so ToAny tells them apart by the header inside.

Opens in Broadcast subtitling systems, Subtitle Edit, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve

EBU-STL converter
ASS compared with EBU-STL
ASSASS/SSA subtitlesEBU-STLEBU STL subtitles
Stands forAdvanced SubStation AlphaEBU Subtitling data exchange format (STL)
TypeStyled subtitlesSubtitles
CompressionNoneNone (binary)
IntroducedThe 2000s, by the SubStation Alpha program and the Aegisub community1991, by the European Broadcasting Union
Opens inVLC, mpv, Aegisub and most fan-subtitling and media-server software; not browsersBroadcast subtitling systems, Subtitle Edit, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve
Best forAnime and karaoke subtitles with fonts, colours and positioningSubtitles delivered to European broadcasters
File extension.ass, .ssa.ebustl

Questions

Are my subtitles uploaded anywhere?

No. The ASS to EBU-STL conversion runs inside your browser, on your own phone or computer. The file is not sent to ToAny or to anyone else.

Is anything lost when converting ASS to EBU-STL?

No further quality is lost: EBU-STL stores the decoded audio exactly. The result is identical in content.

Can I convert several ASS files at once?

Yes. Add as many as you like, convert them together and download each result or all of them as one ZIP.

How do I convert ASS to EBU-STL on Windows, Mac, iPhone or Android?

The steps are the same everywhere because ToAny runs in the web browser: open this page in a current version of Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox, add the ASS file, press Convert and save the EBU-STL. There is nothing to install.

Is there a file size limit?

Yes, but a subtitle file is small. Files up to 50 MB are accepted, far more than any real subtitle file. Beyond that the limit is your device's memory, since nothing is uploaded; a computer copes with large files better than a phone.