VLC window in macOS is tiny and can't be resized

[kaiyoma]

Whenever I start VLC (with no media), I get this:



Why is the window so small? Why is the black background and VLC icon missing? Why can't I resize/fix this? I have VLC installed in Windows, Linux, and macOS and for some reason this behavior shows up in macOS only. Anyone else see this too?

[ePirat]

You probably accidentally hid the playlist. Click the icon with the three bars next to the repeat icon to show it again.

[kaiyoma]

No, that's not what I'm looking for. Here's an example of what VLC looks like on my Windows laptop when I open it without media:



I see the same kind of window in Linux as well. Why is the same window in macOS weird and small? I've tried uninstalling/reinstalling and that didn't work.

[ePirat]

It's not. What happens when you click the mentioned button? It should look like this:

[kaiyoma]

My window looks similar if I open the playlist, but I don't want the playlist to be open. I want the normal black screen (where I can drag and drop content), with no playlist visible.

[ePirat]

That's not possible with the macOS interface.

[kaiyoma]

Okay, that was basically the answer I was looking for. How come the macOS port is different than Windows and Linux in this respect? Seems arbitrary.

[ePirat]

Because it is a different interface (while Windows and Linux share the same, using Qt) and no one implemented it and we never got anyone requesting this. Why do you need this instead of the playlist/drag-and-drop view?

[kaiyoma]

I prefer the aesthetic of the Windows/Linux approach. When dragging and dropping video files, I don't want to use or see the playlist. I like that VLC will just play the video file, then close it and return to the black screen. I find the Windows/Linux approach (without the playlist) to be a bit smoother and snappier.