diff --git a/samparser.py b/samparser.py
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index 0f08f17..067c518
--- a/samparser.py
+++ b/samparser.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+
 import sys
 from statemachine import StateMachine
 from lxml import etree
@@ -3639,7 +3641,7 @@ def write_output(input_file, default_output_extension, source_func, mode="binary
                         outf.write(i)
             else:
                 for i in source_func():
-                    sys.stdout.buffer.write(i.decode("utf-8"))
+                    sys.stdout.buffer.write(i)
         else:
             if output_file:
                 os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(output_file), exist_ok=True)
@@ -3648,7 +3650,7 @@ def write_output(input_file, default_output_extension, source_func, mode="binary
                         outf.write(i)
             else:
                 for i in source_func():
-                    sys.stdout.buffer.write(i)
+                    sys.stdout.buffer.write(i.encode())
 
         return output_file