# Playstation artifacts **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094 "2003-03-17T21:01:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/1 "2003-03-17T21:01:06Z")
I’m getting what I’d call video artifacts on my son’s brand new PS2 console. It’s during a game called _Jak & Daxter_ & the errors look like little lightning bolts coming from the character as he leaps about the landscape. On my PC, I’d chalk this up to video driver issues or overdriving the machine (too little PC for too much game). I’d assume that nobody would write a PS2 game that pushed this rather well-known piece of hardware too hard. What’s going on here? ---
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/2 "2003-03-17T21:30:01Z")
I have a PS2 and Jak and Daxter and have not seen the problem you describe. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/3 "2003-03-17T21:52:09Z")
I should qualify a bit. It doesn’t happen all the time, although the activity on the screen does seem to have some bearing. The “lightning bolts” look like long, skinny triangles with the tip on the character very briefly appearing & then vanishing. Obviously some sort of polygon issue. Is it possible, or necessary, to update the firmware on the PS2? ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/4 "2003-03-17T21:57:28Z")
You shouldn’t have to update anything. Is the PS2 overheating or anything? Maybe try the game in another PS2 (your/your sons friends?) and see if it has the same phenomena. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/5 "2003-03-17T22:00:13Z")
The first thing I would do is hook up the PS2 to a different TV/monitor and see if the problem persists. It may be a problem with the TV set. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/6 "2003-03-17T22:27:54Z")
Or could be a dirty disk since its a new ps2. This is a new one, I never saw it in the ps2 forum that I moderated. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/7 "2003-03-17T22:35:06Z")
Are you sure it isn’t part of the game? Whenever Jax consumes blue energy he looks like he’s radiating lighting. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/8 "2003-03-17T22:36:59Z")
…or lightning. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/9 "2003-03-17T22:48:40Z")
No - this seems definitely non-animated. The “Blue Eco” effect is very different. This little polygon that comes and goes in a flash reaches nearly to the edge of the screen, hence the “lightning” analogy. The PS2 is using an RFU converter, by the way, made by “Mad Catz”. I haven’t been blaming this because of the apparent polygon nature of the artifact. ---
**Author:** ![flapcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@flapcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flapcats)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/10 "2003-03-17T23:26:16Z")
Perhaps it’s to do with the way the PS2 outputs component video. Have you heard of the ‘Chroma Bug’? The PS2 had it, last I knew - it’s red channel artifact (making reds look fuzzy) it also affects some DVD players, lists of which players are available online. Does the problem show only on intense red polys? I thought the chroma bug only affected DVD video playback, though perhaps it’s the video DAC that’s causing it. There will be dedicated PS2 forums that would know… ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/11 "2003-03-17T23:39:15Z")
I know the problem all too well. According to a few sources (internet, friends, etc), the PS2 doesn’t come with any Antialiasing hardware. So there’s your problem right there. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/12 "2003-03-18T02:46:28Z")
The PS2 does support antialiasing, but most games don’t use it because it uses too much power. I think Fantavision is one of the games that does. (There are some tricks that have been used to get a similar effect in other games, though. Play Metal Gear Solid 2 or FFX for a few hours and tell me those edges aren’t smooth!) In any case, a lack of antialiasing would only cause jagged edges, not big triangles flashing across the screen. ---
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/13 "2003-03-18T03:25:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr2001 \* > \*\*The PS2 does support antialiasing, but most games don’t use it because it uses too much power. I think Fantavision is one of the games that does. > \*\* PS2 doesn’t feature it as a hardware feature, it has to be done in software. Several games have used it, but I can’t recall any at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/14 "2003-03-18T04:43:33Z")
[Here’s a thread](http://forum.pcvsconsole.com/viewthread.php?tid=1331) from another message board about PS2 antialiasing. According to some of those posts, the PS2 can do field-blending in hardware (a cheap way to get a smoothing effect), and some games do “real” antialiasing (sub-pixel rendering) in software. Baldur’s Gate apparently does the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/15 "2003-03-18T06:17:51Z")
Straight answer: your playstation 2 is faulty. you should try the game on another console to confirm that however. no, you can’t upgrade the ps2’s firmware. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playstation-artifacts/162094/16 "2003-03-18T15:41:03Z")
Could also be heat if it happens after sometime, is your ps2 in an entertainment center? Is it vertical or horizontal? Did you call Sony?