diff --git a/src/remote/abstractResponseHandler.cpp b/src/remote/abstractResponseHandler.cpp
index 71790e4..1a494f0 100644
--- a/src/remote/abstractResponseHandler.cpp
+++ b/src/remote/abstractResponseHandler.cpp
@@ -4,8 +4,6 @@
  * in file LICENSE that is included with this distribution.
  */
 
-#include <sstream>
-
 #include <osiSock.h>
 
 #include <pv/byteBuffer.h>
@@ -15,9 +13,6 @@
 #include <pv/remote.h>
 #include <pv/hexDump.h>
 
-using std::ostringstream;
-using std::hex;
-
 using namespace epics::pvData;
 
 namespace epics {
@@ -44,13 +39,10 @@ void ResponseHandler::handleResponse(osiSockAddr* responseFrom,
         char ipAddrStr[48];
         ipAddrToDottedIP(&responseFrom->ia, ipAddrStr, sizeof(ipAddrStr));
 
-        ostringstream prologue;
-        prologue<<"Message [0x"<<hex<<(int)command<<", v0x"<<hex;
-        prologue<<(int)version<<"] received from "<<ipAddrStr<<" on "<<transport->getRemoteName();
-
-        hexDump(prologue.str(), _description,
-                (const int8*)payloadBuffer->getArray(),
-                payloadBuffer->getPosition(), static_cast<int>(payloadSize));
+        std::cerr<<"Message [0x"<<std::hex<<(int)command<<", v0x"<<std::hex
+                 <<int(version)<<"] received from "<<ipAddrStr<<" on "<<transport->getRemoteName()
+                 <<" : "<<_description<<"\n"
+                 <<HexDump(*payloadBuffer, payloadSize);
     }
 }
 }
diff --git a/src/remote/codec.cpp b/src/remote/codec.cpp
index 416f21f..0ee4c11 100644
--- a/src/remote/codec.cpp
+++ b/src/remote/codec.cpp
@@ -185,12 +185,6 @@ void AbstractCodec::processReadNormal()  {
                 return;
             }
 
-            /*
-            hexDump("Header", (const int8*)_socketBuffer.getArray(),
-                    _socketBuffer.getPosition(), PVA_MESSAGE_HEADER_SIZE);
-
-            */
-
             // read header fields
             processHeader();
             bool isControl = ((_flags & 0x01) == 0x01);
@@ -797,14 +791,6 @@ void AbstractCodec::send(ByteBuffer *buffer)
         //int p = buffer.position();
         int bytesSent = write(buffer);
 
-        /*
-        if (IS_LOGGABLE(logLevelTrace)) {
-          hexDump(std::string("AbstractCodec::send WRITE"),
-            (const int8 *)buffer->getArray(),
-            buffer->getPosition(), buffer->getRemaining());
-        }
-        */
-
         if (bytesSent < 0)
         {
             // connection lost
@@ -1302,13 +1288,6 @@ int BlockingTCPTransportCodec::read(epics::pvData::ByteBuffer* dst) {
 
         // NOTE: do not log here, you might override SOCKERRNO relevant to recv() operation above
 
-        /*
-        if (IS_LOGGABLE(logLevelTrace)) {
-          hexDump(std::string("READ"),
-            (const int8 *)(dst->getArray()+pos), bytesRead);
-        }
-        */
-
         if(unlikely(bytesRead<=0)) {
 
             if (bytesRead<0)
diff --git a/src/remoteClient/clientContextImpl.cpp b/src/remoteClient/clientContextImpl.cpp
index bea6744..68f507d 100644
--- a/src/remoteClient/clientContextImpl.cpp
+++ b/src/remoteClient/clientContextImpl.cpp
@@ -2998,10 +2998,14 @@ public:
     {
         if (command < 0 || command >= (int8)m_handlerTable.size())
         {
-            // TODO remove debug output
-            char buf[100];
-            sprintf(buf, "Invalid (or unsupported) command %d, its payload", command);
-            hexDump(buf, (const int8*)(payloadBuffer->getArray()), payloadBuffer->getPosition(), payloadSize);
+            LOG(logLevelError,
+                "Invalid (or unsupported) command: %x.", (0xFF&command));
+
+            if(pvAccessIsLoggable(logLevelError)) {
+                std::cerr<<"Invalid PVA header "<<hex<<(int)(0xFF&command)
+                         <<", its payload buffer\n"
+                         <<HexDump(*payloadBuffer, payloadSize);
+            }
             return;
         }
         // delegate
diff --git a/src/server/responseHandlers.cpp b/src/server/responseHandlers.cpp
index 11853cb..b04a5d2 100644
--- a/src/server/responseHandlers.cpp
+++ b/src/server/responseHandlers.cpp
@@ -155,16 +155,14 @@ void ServerResponseHandler::handleResponse(osiSockAddr* responseFrom,
 {
     if(command<0||command>=(int8)m_handlerTable.size())
     {
-        LOG(logLevelDebug,
+        LOG(logLevelError,
             "Invalid (or unsupported) command: %x.", (0xFF&command));
 
-        // TODO remove debug output
-        std::ostringstream name;
-        name<<"Invalid PVA header "<<hex<<(int)(0xFF&command);
-        name<<", its payload buffer";
-
-        hexDump(name.str(), (const int8*)payloadBuffer->getArray(),
-                payloadBuffer->getPosition(), payloadSize);
+        if(pvAccessIsLoggable(logLevelError)) {
+            std::cerr<<"Invalid PVA header "<<hex<<(int)(0xFF&command)
+                     <<", its payload buffer\n"
+                     <<HexDump(*payloadBuffer, payloadSize);
+        }
         return;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/utils/hexDump.cpp b/src/utils/hexDump.cpp
index b47651d..5f701b9 100644
--- a/src/utils/hexDump.cpp
+++ b/src/utils/hexDump.cpp
@@ -7,102 +7,92 @@
 #include <iostream>
 #include <sstream>
 #include <string>
+#include <iomanip>
+#include <algorithm>
+
+#include <pv/byteBuffer.h>
 
 #define epicsExportSharedSymbols
 #include <pv/hexDump.h>
 
-using namespace epics::pvData;
-using std::string;
-using std::stringstream;
-using std::endl;
-using std::cout;
-
 namespace epics {
 namespace pvAccess {
 
-/// Byte to hexchar mapping.
-static const char lookup[] = {
-    '0', '1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7',
-    '8', '9', 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E', 'F'
-};
+HexDump::HexDump(const char* buf, size_t len)
+    :buf(buf)
+    ,buflen(len)
+    ,_limit(1024u)
+    ,_groupBy(4u)
+    ,_perLine(16u)
+{}
 
-/// Get hex representation of byte.
-string toHex(int8 b) {
-    string sb;
-
-    int upper = (b>>4)&0x0F;
-    sb += lookup[upper];
-
-    int lower = b&0x0F;
-    sb += lookup[lower];
-
-    sb += ' ';
-
-    return sb;
+HexDump::HexDump(const pvData::ByteBuffer& bb,
+                 size_t size, size_t offset)
+    :buf(bb.getBuffer() + bb.getPosition())
+    ,buflen(bb.getRemaining())
+    ,_limit((size_t)-1)
+    ,_groupBy(4u)
+    ,_perLine(16u)
+{
+    if(offset > buflen)
+        offset = buflen;
+    buf    += offset;
+    buflen -= offset;
+    if(buflen > size)
+        buflen = size;
 }
 
-/// Get ASCII representation of byte, dot if non-readable.
-char toAscii(int8 b) {
-    if(b>(int8)31&&b<(int8)127)
-        return (char)b;
-    else
-        return '.';
+HexDump::~HexDump() {}
+
+static
+size_t ilog2(size_t val)
+{
+    size_t ret = 0;
+    while(val >>= 1)
+        ret++;
+    return ret;
 }
 
-void hexDump(std::string const & name, const int8 *bs, int len) {
-    hexDump(name, bs, 0, len);
+static
+size_t bits2bytes(size_t val)
+{
+    // round up to next multiple of 8
+    val -= 1u;
+    val |= 7u;
+    val += 1u;
+    // bits -> bytes
+    val /= 8u;
+    return val;
 }
 
-void hexDump(std::string const & name, const int8 *bs, int start, int len) {
-    hexDump("", name, bs, start, len);
-}
+epicsShareFunc
+std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& strm, const HexDump& hex)
+{
+    size_t len = std::min(hex.buflen, hex._limit);
+    // find address width in hex chars
+    // find bit width, rounded up to 8 bits, divide down to bytes
+    size_t addrwidth = bits2bytes(ilog2(len))*2u;
 
-void hexDump(std::string const & prologue, string const & name, const int8 *bs,
-             int start, int len) {
+    for(size_t i=0; i<len; i++)
+    {
+        unsigned val = hex.buf[i]&0xff;
+        size_t col = i%hex._perLine;
 
-    stringstream header;
-
-    header<<prologue<<endl<<"Hexdump ["<<name<<"] size = "<<len;
-
-    string out(header.str());
-
-    string chars;
-
-    for(int i = start; i<(start+len); i++) {
-        if(((i-start)%16)==0) {
-            out += chars;
-            out += '\n';
-            chars.erase();
+        if(col==0) {
+            // first address of this row
+            strm<<"0x"<<std::hex<<std::setw(addrwidth)<<std::setfill('0')<<i;
         }
-
-        chars += toAscii(bs[i]);
-
-        out += toHex(bs[i]);
-
-        if(((i-start)%4)==3) {
-            chars += ' ';
-            out += ' ';
+        if(col%hex._groupBy == 0) {
+            strm<<' ';
         }
+        strm<<std::hex<<std::setw(2)<<std::setfill('0')<<val;
+        if(col+1u==hex._perLine && i+1u!=len)
+            strm<<'\n';
     }
-
-    if(len%16!=0) {
-        int pad = 0;
-        int delta_bytes = 16-(len%16);
-
-        //rest of line (no of bytes)
-        //each byte takes two chars plus one ws
-        pad = delta_bytes*3;
-
-        //additional whitespaces after four bytes
-        pad += (delta_bytes/4);
-        pad++;
-
-        for(int i = 0; i<pad; i++)
-            chars.insert(0, " ");
-    }
-
-    out += chars;
-    cout<<out<<endl;
+    if(len==hex._limit && len<hex.buflen)
+        strm<<" ...";
+    strm<<'\n';
+    return strm;
 }
 
 }
diff --git a/src/utils/pv/hexDump.h b/src/utils/pv/hexDump.h
index fa5f014..d1f4d7c 100644
--- a/src/utils/pv/hexDump.h
+++ b/src/utils/pv/hexDump.h
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 #ifndef HEXDUMP_H_
 #define HEXDUMP_H_
 
+#include <ostream>
+
 #ifdef epicsExportSharedSymbols
 #   define hexDumpEpicsExportSharedSymbols
 #   undef epicsExportSharedSymbols
@@ -22,35 +24,34 @@
 #include <shareLib.h>
 
 namespace epics {
+namespace pvData {
+class ByteBuffer;
+}
 namespace pvAccess {
 
-/**
- * Output a buffer in hex format.
- * @param name  name (description) of the message.
- * @param bs    buffer to dump
- * @param len   first bytes (length) to dump.
- */
-epicsShareFunc void hexDump(std::string const & name, const epics::pvData::int8 *bs, int len);
+class epicsShareClass HexDump {
+    const char* buf;
+    size_t buflen;
+    size_t _limit;
+    unsigned _groupBy;
+    unsigned _perLine;
+public:
+    HexDump(const char* buf, size_t len);
+    explicit HexDump(const pvData::ByteBuffer& buf, size_t size=(size_t)-1, size_t offset=0u);
+    ~HexDump();
 
-/**
- * Output a buffer in hex format.
- * @param[in] name  name (description) of the message.
- * @param[in] bs    buffer to dump
- * @param[in] start dump message using given offset.
- * @param[in] len   first bytes (length) to dump.
- */
-epicsShareFunc void hexDump(std::string const & name, const epics::pvData::int8 *bs, int start, int len);
+    //! safety limit on max bytes printed
+    inline HexDump& limit(size_t n=(size_t)-1)        { _limit = n; return *this; }
+    //! insert a space after this many bytes
+    inline HexDump& bytesPerGroup(size_t n=(size_t)-1) { _groupBy = n; return *this; }
+    //! start a new line after this many bytes
+    inline HexDump& bytesPerLine(size_t n=(size_t)-1) { _perLine = n; return *this; }
 
-/**
- * Output a buffer in hex format.
- * @param[in] prologue string to prefixed to debug output, can be <code>null</code>
- * @param[in] name  name (description) of the message.
- * @param[in] bs    buffer to dump
- * @param[in] start dump message using given offset.
- * @param[in] len   first bytes (length) to dump.
- */
-epicsShareFunc void hexDump(std::string const & prologue, std::string const & name,
-                            const epics::pvData::int8 *bs, int start, int len);
+    friend std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& strm, const HexDump& hex);
+};
+
+epicsShareFunc
+std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& strm, const HexDump& hex);
 
 }
 }
diff --git a/testApp/utils/testHexDump.cpp b/testApp/utils/testHexDump.cpp
index d4cf207..bd10005 100644
--- a/testApp/utils/testHexDump.cpp
+++ b/testApp/utils/testHexDump.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
-#include <epicsUnitTest.h>
+
+#include <sstream>
+
 #include <testMain.h>
 
+#include <pv/pvUnitTest.h>
 #include <pv/hexDump.h>
 
 using namespace epics::pvData;
@@ -8,19 +11,16 @@ using namespace epics::pvAccess;
 
 MAIN(testHexDump)
 {
-    testPlan(3);
+    testPlan(1);
     testDiag("Tests for hexDump");
 
-    char TO_DUMP[] = "pvAccess dump test\0\1\2\3\4\5\6\254\255\256";
+    char TO_DUMP[] = "pvAccess dump test\0\1\2\3\4\5\6\xfd\xfe\xff";
 
-    hexDump("test", (int8*)TO_DUMP, 18+9);
-    testPass("Entire array");
+    std::ostringstream msg;
+    msg<<HexDump(TO_DUMP, sizeof(TO_DUMP)-1);
 
-    hexDump("only text", (int8*)TO_DUMP, 18);
-    testPass("Only text");
-
-    hexDump("22 byte test", (int8*)TO_DUMP, 22);
-    testPass("22 bytes test");
+    testEqual(msg.str(), "0x00 70764163 63657373 2064756d 70207465\n"
+                         "0x10 73740001 02030405 06fdfeff\n");
 
     return testDone();
 }