# is the Playstation 2 known to have display problems on regular TV's?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-playstation-2-known-to-have-display-problems-on-regular-tvs/338950
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 7, 2006, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-playstation-2-known-to-have-display-problems-on-regular-tvs/338950 "2006-01-07T23:43:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2006, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-playstation-2-known-to-have-display-problems-on-regular-tvs/338950/1 "2006-01-07T23:43:31Z")
've had a PS2 problem for years, and I was wondering if anyone else had experienced it.
I’ve noticed that my PS2 seems to display a certain amount of warping in vertical lines on either side of the screen; it’s most noticeable when watching movies (door frames or skyscrapers will slightly bend) or playing menu-intensive games like RPG’s where lots of boxes will be displayed up on the screen. Vertical lines, especially those far to the left or right, will bend a little bit. It’s nothing major, and it doesn’t really interfere with watching movies or playing games, but it’s definitely present and noticeable.
A few observations/thoughts/caveats:
1. The warping is present regardless of whether the PS2’s display option is set to “4:3” or “Full.”
2. Using different cables - composite cables, S-Video, or even Component Video (what I currently use) - doesn’t change or affect it.
3. It’s not the TV’s tube; the warping is only present when using the PS2, and even changes depending on what’s being displayed. On a certain RPG, no warping is present when a menu box is on the screen, but then opening another menu box overtop of that boxe causes the original one to suddenly bend/warp a little bit!
Has anyone else run into this? Is it something that can be fixed by adjusting a parameter in my PS2? Is it a known display issue? Any ideas or guesses?
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### Author:  [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2006, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-playstation-2-known-to-have-display-problems-on-regular-tvs/338950/2 "2006-01-08T01:27:11Z")
Have you tried a different TV yet?
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### Author:  [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2006, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-playstation-2-known-to-have-display-problems-on-regular-tvs/338950/3 "2006-01-08T05:34:53Z")
Presumably you are referring to what my monitor refers to as ‘pincushion’ – a tapering effect at the top and bottom of the screen.
I see this occasionally, but not on all games. I never see this effect with my cable box, VCR, or DVD player.
Some games have a built-in feature to adjust your picture, so I think it is a common issue. ISTR that Tekken 3 for PS1 is one such example.
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### Author:  [@drgnrdr07](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drgnrdr07)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-playstation-2-known-to-have-display-problems-on-regular-tvs/338950/4 "2006-01-08T17:39:51Z")
My PS2 has the exact same issue. I am not really sure what the issue is, but since it is only bending slightly I never actually looked into the issue. I have another issue with my PS2, as well. Whenever the screen displays a bright flash of white, the screen will usually get scrambled for a sec. Has anyone else had this issue?