diff --git a/src/rviz/ogre_helpers/render_system.cpp b/src/rviz/ogre_helpers/render_system.cpp
index 2d13d1b708..ea30deab64 100644
--- a/src/rviz/ogre_helpers/render_system.cpp
+++ b/src/rviz/ogre_helpers/render_system.cpp
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ namespace rviz
 
 RenderSystem* RenderSystem::instance_ = 0;
 int RenderSystem::force_gl_version_ = 0;
+bool RenderSystem::use_anti_aliasing_ = true;
 bool RenderSystem::force_no_stereo_ = false;
 
 RenderSystem* RenderSystem::get()
@@ -81,6 +82,12 @@ void RenderSystem::forceGlVersion( int version )
   ROS_INFO_STREAM( "Forcing OpenGl version " << (float)version / 100.0 << "." );
 }
 
+void RenderSystem::disableAntiAliasing()
+{
+  use_anti_aliasing_ = false;
+  ROS_INFO("Disabling Anti-Aliasing");
+}
+
 void RenderSystem::forceNoStereo()
 {
   force_no_stereo_ = true;
@@ -231,7 +238,7 @@ void RenderSystem::setupRenderSystem()
   // We operate in windowed mode
   renderSys->setConfigOption("Full Screen","No");
 
-  /// We used to allow the user to set the RTT mode to PBuffer, FBO, or Copy. 
+  /// We used to allow the user to set the RTT mode to PBuffer, FBO, or Copy.
   ///   Copy is slow, and there doesn't seem to be a good reason to use it
   ///   PBuffer limits the size of the renderable area of the RTT to the
   ///           size of the first window created.
@@ -239,7 +246,9 @@ void RenderSystem::setupRenderSystem()
   //  renderSys->setConfigOption("RTT Preferred Mode", "FBO");
 
   // Set the Full Screen Anti-Aliasing factor.
-  renderSys->setConfigOption("FSAA", "4");
+  if (use_anti_aliasing_) {
+    renderSys->setConfigOption("FSAA", "4");
+  }
 
   ogre_root_->setRenderSystem(renderSys);
 }
@@ -350,7 +359,9 @@ Ogre::RenderWindow* RenderSystem::makeRenderWindow( intptr_t window_id, unsigned
   params["externalGLControl"] = true;
 
   // Enable antialiasing
-  params["FSAA"] = "4";
+  if (use_anti_aliasing_) {
+    params["FSAA"] = "4";
+  }
 
 // Set the macAPI for Ogre based on the Qt implementation
 #ifdef QT_MAC_USE_COCOA
diff --git a/src/rviz/ogre_helpers/render_system.h b/src/rviz/ogre_helpers/render_system.h
index 5d3883c134..7eb32205c9 100644
--- a/src/rviz/ogre_helpers/render_system.h
+++ b/src/rviz/ogre_helpers/render_system.h
@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ class RenderSystem
   // @brief return GLSL Version as integer, e.g. 150 for GLSL 1.50
   int getGlslVersion() { return glsl_version_; }
 
+  // @brief Disables the use of Anti Aliasing
+  static void disableAntiAliasing();
+
   // @brief Force to use the provided OpenGL version on startup
   static void forceGlVersion( int version );
 
@@ -96,6 +99,7 @@ class RenderSystem
 
   int gl_version_;
   int glsl_version_;
+  static bool use_anti_aliasing_;
   static int force_gl_version_;
   bool stereo_supported_;
   static bool force_no_stereo_;
diff --git a/src/rviz/visualizer_app.cpp b/src/rviz/visualizer_app.cpp
index cef8ea38cc..d549d442aa 100644
--- a/src/rviz/visualizer_app.cpp
+++ b/src/rviz/visualizer_app.cpp
@@ -134,6 +134,7 @@ bool VisualizerApp::init( int argc, char** argv )
       ("ogre-log,l", "Enable the Ogre.log file (output in cwd) and console output.")
       ("in-mc-wrapper", "Signal that this is running inside a master-chooser wrapper")
       ("opengl", po::value<int>(), "Force OpenGL version (use '--opengl 210' for OpenGL 2.1 compatibility mode)")
+      ("disable-anti-aliasing", "Prevent rviz from trying to use anti-aliasing when rendering.")
       ("no-stereo", "Disable the use of stereo rendering.")
       ("verbose,v", "Enable debug visualizations")
       ("log-level-debug", "Sets the ROS logger level to debug.");
@@ -143,6 +144,7 @@ bool VisualizerApp::init( int argc, char** argv )
     bool in_mc_wrapper = false;
     bool verbose = false;
     int force_gl_version = 0;
+    bool disable_anti_aliasing = false;
     bool disable_stereo = false;
     try
     {
@@ -203,6 +205,11 @@ bool VisualizerApp::init( int argc, char** argv )
         force_gl_version = vm["opengl"].as<int>();
       }
 
+      if (vm.count("disable-anti-aliasing"))
+      {
+        disable_anti_aliasing = true;
+      }
+
       if (vm.count("verbose"))
       {
         verbose = true;
@@ -243,6 +250,11 @@ bool VisualizerApp::init( int argc, char** argv )
       RenderSystem::forceGlVersion( force_gl_version );
     }
 
+    if (disable_anti_aliasing)
+    {
+      RenderSystem::disableAntiAliasing();
+    }
+
     if ( disable_stereo )
     {
       RenderSystem::forceNoStereo();