The decoder is attached to the mats and decodes the BibTag signals into the athletes IDs and their measured times. Portable decoders have an integrated battery and can measure up to 50 BibTag passings per second.

The system is especially designed for mass events and can handle a high density of athletes. There are 2 types of decoders. A decoder with connectors for 4-meter mats and one for 8-meter mates