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EBU-STL to VTT converter, without the upload.

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

Drop EBU-STL files here

or choose from your computer paste with Ctrl V

Ready · several at once0 bytes uploaded, ever

Convert to

How to convert EBU-STL to VTT

  1. Add your EBU-STL subtitles

    Drop EBU-STL (STL, Tech 3264) 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. VTT is already chosen

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

  3. Download

    Save the VTT, or download everything as one ZIP if you converted several files.

Why ToAny

  • Private by construction

    The EBU-STL to VTT 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.

EBU-STL to VTT: what to expect

EBU STL is a binary file that web players and most consumer apps cannot read. VTT is what web video players and browsers display natively. EBU-STL is at home in subtitles delivered to European broadcasters; VTT is the usual choice for captions on web pages and in HTML video players.

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. Only Latin-alphabet EBU STL files are read. Colours, boxes and double-height text are dropped; italics, underline, line breaks, position and justification are kept, and times are shifted back by the programme start the header declares. Top and middle positions and left or right alignment are written as WebVTT cue settings.

EBU-STL vs VTT

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
VTT

WebVTT subtitles

WebVTT is the caption format of HTML5 video. It looks like SRT with a WEBVTT header and a full stop in the timestamps, but also supports positioning, styling with CSS, chapters and metadata. Browsers display it natively.

Opens in Web browsers (the HTML track element), YouTube, Vimeo, VLC and streaming players

VTT converter
EBU-STL compared with VTT
EBU-STLEBU STL subtitlesVTTWebVTT subtitles
Stands forEBU Subtitling data exchange format (STL)Web Video Text Tracks
TypeSubtitlesSubtitles
CompressionNone (binary)None
Introduced1991, by the European Broadcasting Union2010, by the WHATWG and W3C
Opens inBroadcast subtitling systems, Subtitle Edit, Premiere Pro and DaVinci ResolveWeb browsers (the HTML track element), YouTube, Vimeo, VLC and streaming players
Best forSubtitles delivered to European broadcastersCaptions on web pages and in HTML video players
File extension.ebustl.vtt, .webvtt

Questions

Are my subtitles uploaded anywhere?

No. The EBU-STL to VTT 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 EBU-STL to VTT?

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

Can I convert several EBU-STL 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 EBU-STL to VTT 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 EBU-STL file, press Convert and save the VTT. 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.