MP4
MP4 video
MP4 is the video container everything plays. It normally holds H.264 video and AAC audio, a pairing that phones, browsers, TVs and social networks all accept.
Opens in Every phone, browser, TV, console and editor
MP4 converterMP4 to ASS converter, without the upload.
Turn MP4 videos into ASS. It is converted in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.
Drop MP4 files here
or choose from your computer paste with Ctrl V
from Photos or Files
Ready · other file types work too0 bytes uploaded, ever
Convert to
- On your device · nothing is uploaded
- No account, no email
- Batch and ZIP download
- Free
- ASS: embedded subtitles
How to convert MP4 to ASS
Add your MP4 videos
Drop MP4 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.
ASS is already chosen
Press Convert. There is nothing else to set. The work happens in this tab and can take a while for large files.
Download
Save the result. When one file produces several ASS files they come as a single ZIP.
Why ToAny
Private by construction
The MP4 to ASS converter is part of this page and runs inside your browser. Your videos are never sent to ToAny or to anyone else.
No upload, no queue
Nothing has to travel to a server and back, so work starts the moment you press Convert. How long it takes depends on your device and the size of the file.
Free, without an account
No sign-up, no email address and no watermark. Add several files and download them together as a ZIP.
MP4 to ASS: what to expect
MP4 is a delivery format: other tools sometimes need audio only, a GIF, or a different container. ASS gives full control over how subtitles look. MP4 is at home in sharing and uploading video anywhere; ASS is the usual choice for anime and karaoke subtitles with fonts, colours and positioning.
One MP4 can produce several ASS files; when it does, they are offered together as a ZIP download. This is demanding work for a browser: a long or high-resolution file can take several minutes, and your device does all of it, so keep the tab open.
This pair uses the compatibility engine, ffmpeg built for the browser, because ASS cannot be written by the browser's built-in codecs. It is a one-off download of about 10 MB that the browser keeps, it is slower than the built-in codecs, and it takes files up to 1 GB. Only text subtitle tracks stored inside the video are extracted, one ASS file per track (several tracks come as a ZIP); picture-based tracks from DVDs and Blu-rays are refused because they would need text recognition. A feature-length file is fine, since the video is only read and the result is a few kilobytes.
MP4 vs ASS
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| MP4MP4 video | ASSASS/SSA subtitles | |
|---|---|---|
| Stands for | MPEG-4 Part 14 | Advanced SubStation Alpha |
| Type | Video container | Styled subtitles |
| Compression | Lossy | None |
| Introduced | 2001, by the Moving Picture Experts Group | The 2000s, by the SubStation Alpha program and the Aegisub community |
| Opens in | Every phone, browser, TV, console and editor | VLC, mpv, Aegisub and most fan-subtitling and media-server software; not browsers |
| Best for | Sharing and uploading video anywhere | Anime and karaoke subtitles with fonts, colours and positioning |
| File extension | .mp4 | .ass, .ssa |
Questions
Are my videos uploaded anywhere?
No. The MP4 to ASS 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 MP4 to ASS?
The content is carried over as faithfully as ASS allows; features that ASS does not have are left out.
Can I convert several MP4 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 MP4 to ASS 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 MP4 file, press Convert and save the ASS. There is nothing to install.
Is there a file size limit?
Yes. MP4 to ASS runs on the compatibility engine, which takes files up to 1 GB, and a long clip takes a while because it is slower than the browser's built-in codecs. Beyond that the limit is your device's memory, since nothing is uploaded; a computer copes with large files better than a phone.