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GLview Extensions Viewer is a free Windows diagnostic from Realtech VR that reads out your GPU, driver version and OpenGL, Vulkan and DirectX support, and since 7.4.7 reports what HDR10 and Dolby Vision each connected monitor claims.
Something on your PC is not behaving, and the answer depends on what your graphics card can actually do.
GLview reads that out of the driver and puts it on one screen, for free.
It changes nothing and installs no driver, so it is a safe first step when you are guessing.
What GLview Actually Reports
Run it and you get the exact card, the exact driver version, and the OpenGL, Vulkan and DirectX versions that driver supports. It also names your CPU, and checks your renderer against a database of more than 10,000 known GPUs so you can see whether Windows has picked up the real driver or fallen back to a generic one.
The DirectX section reports your DirectX 12 Ultimate status and Shader Model level, up to 6.7. There are built-in OpenGL and Vulkan rendering tests too, which are useful mainly as a yes-or-no answer to whether 3D acceleration is working at all.
The HDR Answer, New in 7.4.7
Version 7.4.7 added HDR10, Dolby Vision and FreeSync HDR detection for each connected monitor separately. That is the most useful thing in this release if you watch video on a PC.
HDR problems are usually a mismatch nobody can see: the cable, the monitor, the GPU and Windows each have an opinion, and one of them says no. A per-display readout tells you which screen is claiming what, which is a much better starting point than toggling Windows settings and hoping.
If your display does report HDR and playback still looks wrong, the fault is downstream. Windows needs Dolby Vision Extensions for Dolby Vision content, and Dolby Access handles the Atmos side.
One specific and very common HDR fault has its own fix in our guide HDR No Sound Fix: LAV Filters Audio Dropout Solution.
What GLview Will Not Tell You
It will not tell you whether your GPU can decode HEVC or AV1 in hardware. That is worth saying plainly, because it is the question people bring to a tool like this.
Hardware video decoding lives in a separate block on the chip - NVDEC on NVIDIA, Quick Sync on Intel, VCN on AMD - and none of it is exposed through the OpenGL, Vulkan or DirectX capability bits GLview reads. GLview gives you the inputs to that question, which is the exact card and driver. It does not give you the answer.
For the answer, use DXVA Checker, which lists every format your GPU will accept for hardware decoding and at what resolution. Our guide Does My PC Support HEVC? Check H.265 Hardware Decoding walks through reading its output.
Changes in 7.4.7
- HDR10, Dolby Vision and FreeSync HDR detection added for each monitor
- Vendor-specific GPU information added using NVIDIA NVAPI, AMD AGS and Intel IGCL
- Improved stability when running Start Benchmark more than once
- Improved fullscreen rendering tests and display-mode handling
- Improved Vulkan colour accuracy, fullscreen stability and compatibility
- Bug fixes, dependency updates and general stability work
The vendor-specific reporting is the quieter half of this release. Reading NVAPI, AGS and IGCL directly means GLview now reports what each vendor's own control panel would, rather than only what the generic Windows interfaces expose.
How It Compares to the Other Free Readouts
These tools overlap but do not replace each other, and most people troubleshooting playback end up wanting two of them.
| Tool | Best at | Reach for it when |
|---|---|---|
| GLview Extensions Viewer | Graphics API support, extension lists, per-monitor HDR, rendering tests | You need to know what the driver supports, or what your display is claiming |
| DXVA Checker | Hardware decode formats and maximum resolutions per codec | The question is whether your GPU decodes HEVC, AV1 or VP9 |
| GPU-Z | Silicon detail, clocks, memory, live sensors | You want temperatures and load, or to confirm a card is genuine |
| GPU Shark | Lightweight live monitoring across several GPUs at once | You are watching behaviour over time rather than reading a spec |
| MediaInfo | What is inside the file rather than inside the PC | You need to know the codec, profile and bit depth of the video itself |
CPU-Z is the equivalent on the processor side, and worth having if software decoding is doing the work.
When the Answer Is an Old Driver
A low OpenGL or Vulkan version and a driver dated years ago usually means Windows Update installed a basic display driver and never went back. That single fact explains a surprising share of playback and acceleration complaints.
Get the current driver from the vendor rather than from Windows Update.
NVIDIA ships more than one driver branch and the choice is not obvious, so read NVIDIA Driver Guide: Which One is Right for You? first. On Intel machines, Why Intel Graphics Software Installs on Your PC but Never Opens covers a confusing piece of that stack.
Turning the Report Into Working Playback
Once you know what the hardware supports, the settings that use it live in your player and its filters, not in GLview.
LAV Filters is where hardware decoding is switched on and which method it uses.
The picture then goes to a renderer, and MPC Video Renderer or madVR are the two worth knowing, madVR being the demanding one that will actually use a strong GPU.
If any of that is unfamiliar, Why Videos Don't Play: Understanding Decoders and Renderers explains how the pieces fit, and How to Enable Hardware Acceleration in MPC-HC is the practical version.
Installing the K-Lite Codec Pack sets most of it up in one pass.
System Requirements
GLview 7.4.7 runs on Windows 10 and Windows 11, with 64-bit recommended. The installer is 35.6MB.
The rendering tests need OpenGL 1.1 or higher, and the DirectX capabilities viewer needs a DirectX 11 class GPU. An internet connection is used to keep the renderer database current, though the report itself works offline. DirectX 12 is already part of Windows 10 and 11, so there is nothing to install for that.
Older Windows Versions
Realtech VR still hosts every previous generation, which is unusual and genuinely useful on old hardware. GLview 6.4.99 covers Windows Vista, 7 and 8, and 5.39 goes back to Windows XP SP2.
There is also GLview 2.60, re-released in 2026, which runs on everything from Windows NT 4.0 up to Windows 11 and needs no installer at all. On a machine too old for the current build, that is the one to try.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
If you want temperatures, fan speeds and clock behaviour under load, this is the wrong tool. GLview takes a reading, it does not watch.
If your actual question is about a file rather than a machine - why this one video stutters when others do not - start with MediaInfo instead, and read our guide DirectX and D3D11 Video Decoding, Explained Simply for how the file and the hardware meet.
Quick questions
Is GLview free?
Yes. The Windows version has always been free with no adware or spyware, and Softpedia certifies it clean. GLview Pro for iOS, macOS and Android is a different product and can carry in-app purchases.
Is this the same as OpenGL Extensions Viewer?
Yes, it is the same program under a newer name. Realtech VR renamed it once it covered Vulkan and DirectX as well as OpenGL, and it has been in continuous development since 2000.
Will it tell me if my GPU decodes HEVC or AV1?
No. Hardware decoding is not exposed through the graphics APIs GLview reads. Use DXVA Checker for that question.
Does it support Apple Metal?
Not in the Windows build. Metal reporting is in GLview Pro for macOS and iOS, which is a separate application from the one on this page.
Can it change or break anything?
No. It reads what the driver reports and displays it, and installs no drivers of its own. The rendering benchmarks load the GPU briefly, the same as any game would.
Does it send my data anywhere?
Only if you ask it to. There is a Submit function that sends your GPU's capabilities anonymously to the shared renderer database, and it is optional. The internet connection is otherwise used to keep that database current.
Will it run on Windows 7?
Not this version, which targets Windows 10 and 11. Use GLview 6.4.99 for Vista, 7 and 8, or 5.39 for Windows XP.
Free Download GLview 7.4.7 and find out what your card and monitor are really reporting, then tell us what it reported - this page has no reviews yet.
