I had a problem that the interface was opening in fullscreen mode and could not be resized to the native video size. To clarify what needs to be done, which finally worked for me.
First, uncheck both the "Auto Scaling" in the "All, Video" section of Preferences and the "Resize interface to video size" in the "Simple, Video" section.
Save the preferences and Close the VLC program.
Now come back in and check the "Resize interface to video size" in the "Simple, Video" section. That will get the video displaying in the native size but, oddly, will not resize the interface itself, even though that's what the checkbox says.
Finally, go back and check the "Auto Scaling" in the "All, Video" section, save the preferences and close VLC. You will then have the video and the interface in the native size of the video which is being played.
My problem is this: My friend stayed with me for a few days, and I gave him a hard drive full of tv shows to watch, since I do not believe in outrageous cable prices and do not even own cable for years now. After he left, I find my VLC player fully screen sized now and I CAN NOT move or shrink it at all when clicking on the top white border.
Me, being obsessive compulsive, likes to start out with a small size, say 4 inches wide by 6-7 inches across, then full screen automatically kicks in once the show starts up. This is the first time ever I am locked into a huge full sized VLC that I can not resize at all and I have no idea what he did. I did just follow the directions above, but to no avail and I currently use a "1920 by 1280" resolution size.
Also, 2nd question, how do I make my mouse arrow auto disappear once the video starts? It used to 3 years ago, but after all these version updates, it stopped after the first one and I do not see anywhere under ALL options to check. My info box line and volume control box goes away fine after 3-4 seconds but then I have to move the mouse offscreen every time as well then.