A decoder is a piece of electronic equipment that takes in a signal and changes it into a form another machine can use — often pictures and sound for a television. The box on top of the TV, the unit that unlocks a cable or satellite channel, the chip that turns a coded broadcast into a picture: people call that a decoder.

A decoder is a piece of electronic equipment decoder 是一種電子設備 that takes in a signal and changes it into a form another machine can use它接收訊號，把它轉換成另一台機器能用的形式 — often pictures and sound for a television通常是電視能用的畫面跟聲音。The box on top of the TV那台放在電視上面的盒子, the unit that unlocks a cable or satellite channel解鎖有線或衛星頻道的那個裝置, the chip that turns a coded broadcast into a picture把編碼過的訊號轉成畫面的那顆晶片: people call that a decoder人們都把這些叫做 decoder。

In older living rooms it was the little box you rented from the cable company. The same word also covers other machines that undo a code (a password decoder in a story, a subtitle decoder), but the learner sense here is the home-electronics one: signal in, usable picture and sound out.

In older living rooms在以前的客廳裡 it was the little box you rented from the cable company它是你跟有線電視公司租來的那個小盒子。The same word also covers other machines that undo a code同一個字也可以指其他能解碼的機器 (a password decoder in a story, a subtitle decoder像故事裡的密碼解碼器，或字幕解碼器), but the learner sense here is the home-electronics one不過這裡學習者要學的是家用電器這個意思: signal in, usable picture and sound out訊號進去，變成可用的畫面和聲音出來。

It is a thing, not usually a person, in this meaning — though decoder can also mean a person who works out a code.

It is a thing, not usually a person, in this meaning在這個意思裡它通常是指一個東西，不是指人 — though decoder can also mean a person who works out a code不過 decoder 也可以指破解密碼的人。

Encode is the other direction: put the signal into code. A decoder undoes that. From decode + -er (the thing that decodes).

Encode is the other direction encode（編碼）是相反的方向: put the signal into code把訊號變成密碼。A decoder undoes that decoder 做的就是把它還原回來。From decode + -er (the thing that decodes)是從 decode 加上 -er 組成的（意思是「做解碼這件事的東西」）。