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SMI to SRT Converter

Convert legacy SAMI subtitles — including EUC-KR encoded Korean files — into clean UTF-8 SRT that every modern player reads.

Legacy Korean .smi subtitles — almost always EUC-KR encoded — become clean UTF-8 SRT that every modern player reads. Encoding is detected automatically (no more ���� mojibake), SAMI's implicit end-times become real ones, and bilingual files pick the dominant language track.

Last verified 2026-08-15 — this tool passed 85 automated end-to-end checks

→ VTT
Drop .smi files here, or click to browse
converts to SRT · batch supported · encoding auto-detected
01 — EUC-KR AWARE
Korean SMI files from the 2000s are almost always EUC-KR encoded. This tool detects that automatically — no more ���� mojibake.
02 — PRIVATE
Files are parsed locally in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, logged or retained.
03 — SMART TIMING
SAMI ends a cue by showing a blank ( ) block. The converter turns those into proper SRT end times instead of 4-second guesses.

How to use

  1. Drop your file(s) into the box above — or click it to browse.
  2. Conversion starts immediately; the tabs switch to a different output format.
  3. Click Download on each finished file — or Download all (.zip) for a batch. Nothing was uploaded at any point.

What is an SMI file?

SAMI (Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange, .smi) is Microsoft's subtitle format from 1998, built to look like HTML: <SYNC Start=1000> blocks with <P> tags inside. It became the standard subtitle format of the Korean internet in the 2000s — a huge share of Korean movie and drama subtitles from that era exist only as .smi files, and they're nearly always saved in the legacy EUC-KR encoding rather than UTF-8.

Modern players have moved on. mpv, IINA, Plex, Jellyfin, smart TVs and streaming boxes either don't read SAMI at all or mangle the encoding. Converting to UTF-8 SRT solves both problems permanently.

SAMI vs SRT at a glance
SMI (SAMI)SRT
OriginMicrosoft, 1998SubRip community, early 2000s
SyntaxHTML-like SYNC/P tagsPlain numbered text blocks
End timesImplicit (next sync / &nbsp;)Explicit per cue
Typical encodingEUC-KR (Korean legacy)UTF-8 today
Multi-language in one fileYes (P classes)No
Modern player supportFading fastUniversal

What the converter actually handles

  • Encoding detection — EUC-KR, UTF-8 and UTF-16 inputs are recognized automatically; output is always UTF-8, so Korean text renders correctly everywhere.
  • End times — SAMI has no end timestamps; a cue ends when the next <SYNC> replaces it, often with an &nbsp; blank. These become real SRT end times.
  • Multi-language files — bilingual SMI files carry several <P Class> tracks; the converter picks the language class with the most actual cues (shown in the result line).
  • HTML cleanup<br> becomes a line break, entities like &amp; are decoded, leftover font tags are stripped.

When NOT to convert SMI to SRT

  • Feeding an ancient player that only knows SAMI — some 2000s-era Korean standalone DVD/DivX players want the original .smi; keep a copy.
  • Preserving dual-language tracks in one file — SRT holds one language; convert twice if you need both, or keep the SAMI as the master.

Frequently asked questions

한국어 자막이 ���로 깨져 보였는데 해결되나요?

네. 그 증상은 EUC-KR 파일을 UTF-8로 읽어서 생기는 것으로, 이 변환기가 인코딩을 자동 감지해 UTF-8 SRT로 저장하므로 모든 최신 플레이어에서 정상 표시됩니다.

How are end times decided?

A cue ends exactly when the next SYNC block starts — including blank &nbsp; blocks, which exist precisely to clear subtitles. Only a file-final cue without a closer gets a 4-second default.

My SMI has Korean and English together — what happens?

The converter picks the language class with the most real cues and reports which one it chose. Run it once per language if you need both as separate SRT files.