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SubStationAlpha Screenshot of Sub Station Alpha (SSA) Sub Station Alpha (SSA) is the original digital subtitling program created by Kotus in the early 1990s designed for the PC. Early versions of Sub Station Alpha required a registration key in order to be activated for use. However, after extensive password hacking and cracking, Kotus finally decided to release later versions of Sub Station Alpha as freeware. In the past, the only known method to subtitle on VHS videos was to connect a genlock through Jacosub (Amiga) or BakaSub (Linux) and record the resultant combined output of the analog tape with the newly overlayed subtitles. Sub Station Alpha and Virtualdub's? Textsub? filter allowed the PC to carry out normal fansubbing work, and its steady increase in popularity through the 1990s gradually rendered the two older programs out of use. To this day, the SSA format remains the dominant format used by fansubbing groups. As of 2007, The original website (http://www.eswat.demon.co.uk/) no longer exists, and the last known stable version is 4.08. Recent developments in the form of ASS, Sabbu, and Aegisub now offer more convenient features for fansubbers, and over time may supercede Sub Station Alpha as the subtitling program of choice. However, despite many of its VHS-based limitations, many fansubbers today continue to faithfully use Sub Station Alpha because of its remarkable stability. |