Tool Review: hdrinfo
+Date: July 03, 2026
+Executive verdict: hdrinfo is a strong fit for the repository: a single-file Windows CLI that turns hard-to-see HDR display state into actionable diagnostics. Recommendation: keep and improve.
What It Does Well
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- Combines DisplayConfig and DXGI output metadata in one command instead of forcing manual registry, Settings, and graphics-debugger checks. +
- Reports both panel capability and current Windows state, which helps separate hardware, OS-toggle, and rendering-path problems. +
- Documents field meanings clearly enough for swap-chain, SDR-white, luminance, and gamut decisions. +
- Stays aligned with the repo's small-tool constraint: one C source file plus one Markdown usage/reference page. +
Limitations and Risks
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- Windows-only APIs mean there is no meaningful Linux cron build or runtime check for the tool itself. +
- Reported luminance and primaries are metadata, not calibrated measurements; bad EDID or driver data can still mislead. +
- The output is plain text only, so automation must parse human-oriented labels. +
- No command-line switches yet for targeting one monitor, emitting JSON, or suppressing explanatory text. +
Alternatives and Tradeoffs
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- Windows Settings / Advanced display: easy to access but not scriptable and does not expose the full DXGI field set. +
- DirectX diagnostics or graphics debuggers: deeper for rendering pipelines but heavier for support tickets and quick baselines. +
- Colorimeter workflow: more accurate for calibration, but outside the low-friction diagnostic scope of this repo. +
Workflow Fit
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- Game/tool bring-up: run before choosing HDR10, scRGB, or SDR fallback behavior. +
- Support triage: ask users to paste one report alongside screenshots and GPU/driver information. +
- Display troubleshooting: identify YCbCr fallback, 8 bpc output, disabled HDR, or suspicious luminance metadata quickly. +
Evidence Snapshot
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hdrinfo.mddocuments the MSVC build command, no-argument CLI, DisplayConfig fields, DXGI fields, and interpretation tables.
+ hdrinfo.cdeclares a single-file Windows tool using DXGI, DisplayConfig, and user32-linked APIs.
+ - The tool is listed in the release changelog; this review adds the missing Pages review parity entry. +
Final Recommendation
+Recommendation: keep and improve. The best follow-up is a --json mode with stable field names, plus optional monitor selection for multi-display systems.