Get free VFX image viewer and video playback tool DJV 3.5
Originally posted on 15 February 2026 for DJV 3.3, and updated for DJV 3.5.
Grizzly Peak 3D has updated DJV, its free image viewer and playback software for VFX and animation work.
The DJV 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 updates add support for the OpenImageIO standard and extend support for OpenColorIO workflows.
DJV 3.4 and 3.5 add support for SVG files, partial image sequences and custom fonts.
A free image sequence viewer and video player for VFX and feature animation work
Created by former Lucasfilm software engineer Darby Johnston, DJV plays back high-resolution, high-bit-depth image sequences and videos when reviewing shots in professional VFX or animation pipelines.
It supports a range of file formats used in production pipelines, including Cineon, DPX, JPEG, OpenEXR, PNG, PPM, SGI, TGA, BMP and TIFF for image sequences.
For video playback, it supports the MJPEG movie codec, and FLAC, MP3 and WAV audio codecs.
The player also supports the OpenColorIO (OCIO) color management standard, making it possible to preview colors accurately within a production pipeline.
It provides a free alternative to commercial tools like Autodesk’s RV, now available as part of its Flow Production Tracking platform.
DJV 3.1 to 3.3: OpenImageIO, extended OpenColorIO support, and workflow improvements
DJV got a major update last year, with DJV 3.0 – the first update to the software in over five years – introducing a new high-performance core based on OpenTimelineIO, experimental support for USD files, and support for A/B comparisons between versions of a shot.
The subsequent updates aren’t quite as big, but they do add support for another open standard: image read/write API OpenImageIO.
OpenColorIO support has also been extended, with DJV now supporting the OCIO environment variable and built-in OCIO configurations.
There are also a lot of workflow improvements, of which arguably the biggest is that the built-in file browser can now display image sequences as a single item with a frame range.
DJV 3.4 and 3.5: new comparison modes and SVG support
To that, DJV 3.4 and DJV 3.5 add support for partial image sequences, for reading SVG files, and for custom fonts, to support different languages.
The A/B comparison system has been extended with a new ‘butterfly’ compare mode, and the option to export comparisons.
It is also now possible to decode movies using the ffmpeg command-line application, which makes it possible to supply your own codecs without having to compile DJV from source.
However, USD support has been removed, at least from the compiled binaries, although it is still available when building the application from source.
License and system requirements
Compiled versions of DJV 3.5 are available as free downloads for Windows 10, Ubuntu 22.04 Linux and macOS 14.0+.
The source code is available under a 3-clause BSD license. You can find instructions for compiling the code on the online documentation.
Read more about DJV on the product website
Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.