If you have one of the newer versions of GhostScript which can read PDF 
files, then there's no reason you can't read PDF files in XV, either.  

All you need is this simple patch to detect PDF files as being
'PostScript-y'.

--jhb, 4/1/98


--- xv-3.10a.orig/xv.c	Sun Apr 12 01:57:22 1998
+++ xv-3.10a/xv.c	Sun Apr 12 01:56:59 1998
@@ -2920,6 +2920,10 @@
 	   strncmp((char *) magicno, "\004%!", (size_t) 3)==0)   rv = RFT_PS;
 #endif
 
+#ifdef GS_PATH
+  else if (strncmp((char *) magicno, "%PDF",   (size_t) 4)==0)   rv = RFT_PS;
+#endif
+
 #ifdef HAVE_MAG
   else if (strncmp((char *) magicno,"MAKI02  ", (size_t) 8)==0)  rv = RFT_MAG;
 #endif /* HAVE_MAG */