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Managing Media

Media is what makes your arcade look amazing. Wheel images, background art, videos, themes—HyperHQ makes it easy to download and manage all of it.

What is Media?​

In HyperSpin, "media" means all the visual and video content:

Wheels - The spinning logo images for each game Backgrounds - Artwork that shows behind the wheel Videos - Gameplay footage that plays when you highlight a game Themes - Complete visual packages with animations Box Art - Game box covers and cart images Marquees - Arcade marquee artwork Bezels - Screen borders for that authentic arcade look

Good media transforms HyperSpin from a game list into an arcade experience.

Media Sources​

HyperHQ downloads media from two main sources:

HyperTheme​

The official HyperSpin media library. Includes:

  • High-quality wheel images
  • Backgrounds and artwork
  • System themes
  • Curated collections

Access: Included with your HyperSpin account

EmuMovies​

Premium media service with a tiered access system:

Tier 1: No Account

  • System themes
  • Basic artwork packages

Tier 2: Free Account Create one at EmuMovies:

  • Wheels, logos, backgrounds
  • Box art (2D, 3D, spine, back)
  • Screenshots, marquees
  • Cabinet and control panel art

Tier 3: Paid Subscription The full library:

  • Video snaps (240p, 480p, 1080p)
  • Game manuals (PDFs)
  • Music and soundtracks
  • Priority download speeds

HyperHQ detects your tier automatically—stuff you can't access gets hidden or marked premium.

To connect: Settings → EmuMovies credentials.

Downloading Media​

Ready to make your arcade look great? Here's how to get media:

1. Navigate to Media Section​

Click Media in the sidebar. You'll see your systems listed.

2. Choose a System​

Pick the system you want to download media for. This shows available media for that system.

3. Select Media Type​

Click the tab for what you want to download:

  • Wheels - Game logos
  • Backgrounds - Background images
  • Videos - Gameplay footage
  • Themes - Complete theme packages
  • Box Art - Game boxes and carts
  • Marquees - Arcade marquee art

4. Browse and Preview​

Scroll through available media. Click on any item to:

  • See a larger preview
  • Check the resolution and quality
  • View file details

5. Download​

Click Download on media you want. HyperHQ:

  • Downloads the file
  • Places it in the correct folder
  • Applies it to your game or system
  • Caches it for future use

6. Apply to Games​

Once downloaded, media automatically applies to the right games. You'll see it next time you open HyperSpin.

Media Types Explained​

Let's break down what each media type does:

Wheel Images​

The iconic spinning logos in HyperSpin. Every game needs a wheel:

Where They Show: Main game selection screen Format: Usually PNG with transparency Resolution: Typically 400-600px wide Purpose: Quick visual identification of games

Tips:

  • Wheels are the most important media—get these first
  • High contrast works best (they need to be readable at a glance)
  • Consistent style makes your wheel look professional

Background Images​

Artwork that displays behind the wheel:

Where They Show: Behind the spinning wheel Format: JPG or PNG Resolution: Match your screen (1080p, 4K, etc.) Purpose: Adds atmosphere and theming

Tips:

  • Darker backgrounds let wheels stand out
  • Animated backgrounds possible with themes
  • System backgrounds vs. game-specific backgrounds

Videos​

Gameplay footage that plays when you highlight a game:

Where They Show: Video area (usually top-right or center) Format: MP4, AVI Length: Usually 30-60 seconds Purpose: Shows actual gameplay before launching

Video Snap Resolutions (EmuMovies Premium):

  • 240p - Smallest files, good for large collections
  • 480p - Standard definition, balanced quality
  • 1080p - Full HD, best quality

Tips:

  • Videos use a lot of disk space—plan accordingly
  • Lower resolution saves space (720p vs. 1080p)
  • EmuMovies has the best video library
  • You can disable videos if space is limited

Media Preview & Gallery​

Media Categories​

Game details organize media into three clean categories:

Media - Videos and audio content

  • Video snaps (gameplay footage)
  • Game music

Images - Visual artwork

  • Wheels and logos
  • Backgrounds
  • Box art (2D, 3D, 2.5D, spine, back)
  • Screenshots
  • Marquees, bezels, cabinets

Documents - Text content

  • Game manuals
  • Maps and walkthroughs

Tabs only appear when you have content in that category—no empty sections cluttering things up.

Game Media Preview​

When viewing a game, hover over thumbnails for a larger preview. Click for fullscreen lightbox. Videos auto-play on hover (muted).

Missing a background? HyperHQ falls back to the system's background.

Each system has a Media tab with a full gallery:

  • Grid view of all media
  • Filter by type (wheels, backgrounds, videos, etc.)
  • Hover for preview, click for fullscreen
  • Shows what you have vs. what's available

Themes​

Complete visual packages with animations and effects:

What's Included:

  • Animated backgrounds
  • Custom wheel layouts
  • Sound effects
  • Transitions and effects
  • Complete visual overhaul

Where They Show: System-wide appearance changes

Tips:

  • Themes transform the entire look of a system
  • Check HyperTheme for community-created themes
  • Some themes require specific HyperSpin settings
  • Preview before downloading—themes are large files
  • Main menu themes are only downloaded for installed (non-hidden) systems, keeping downloads efficient and avoiding unnecessary bandwidth usage for systems you haven't set up

Box Art​

Game covers and cartridge images:

Types:

  • Boxes-2D: Flat front box covers
  • Boxes-3D: 3D rendered box images
  • Boxes-2.5D: Angled box perspectives
  • Cart Art: Cartridge labels
  • CD/DVD Art: Disc images

Purpose: Additional visual info, used in game lists and themes

Boxart Priority​

HyperHQ lets you choose which boxart format displays first when multiple types exist.

Setting Your Preference:

  1. Go to Settings > Media Display
  2. Find Boxart Priority
  3. Drag to reorder your preferred formats

Available Formats:

  • Boxes-2D (flat front covers)
  • Boxes-3D (rendered 3D boxes)
  • Boxes-2.5D (angled perspective)
  • Boxes-Front (front cover only)
  • Boxes-Texture (texture maps)

How It Works: HyperHQ checks for boxart in your priority order. First match wins:

  1. Checks your top priority format
  2. If not found, checks next in list
  3. Falls back through the list until something's found

Example: Priority: Boxes-3D > Boxes-2D > Boxes-Front

  • Game has Boxes-2D and Boxes-Front → Shows Boxes-2D
  • Game only has Boxes-Front → Shows Boxes-Front
  • Game has all three → Shows Boxes-3D

JPG vs PNG: Within each format, HyperHQ prefers JPG files (smaller, faster loading). If only PNG exists, it uses that.

Marquees​

Arcade cabinet marquee artwork:

Where They Show: Separate marquee display (if you have one) Format: JPG or PNG Purpose: Authentic arcade cabinet experience

Only needed if you have a marquee display screen.

Bezels​

Screen borders and overlays:

Purpose: Fills empty space around 4:3 games on widescreen displays Where They Show: Around the game screen during play Format: PNG with transparency

Great for arcade authenticity.

Batch Downloads​

Downloading media one game at a time would take forever. Use batch operations:

Download All Wheels​

  1. Go to Media > [System] > Wheels
  2. Click Download All
  3. HyperHQ downloads wheels for every game
  4. Progress shows at the bottom

Download All Backgrounds​

Same process—just switch to the Backgrounds tab and hit Download All.

Download Queue​

HyperHQ queues downloads and processes them in the background:

  • Continue working while downloads run
  • Progress indicator shows status
  • Failed downloads get retried

Smart Caching​

Already downloaded media? HyperHQ remembers:

  • Doesn't re-download existing files
  • Checks cache first
  • Saves bandwidth and time

Custom Media​

Want to use your own artwork? You can add custom media:

Adding Custom Wheels​

  1. Create or download a wheel image (PNG recommended)
  2. Go to Media > [System] > Wheels
  3. Click Upload Custom
  4. Select your image file
  5. Choose which game it's for
  6. HyperHQ adds it to your library

Custom Backgrounds​

Same process—just use the Backgrounds tab instead.

Manual Media Placement​

You can also add media manually by placing files in the correct folders:

  • Wheels: HyperSpin/Media/[System]/Wheel/
  • Backgrounds: HyperSpin/Media/[System]/Images/
  • Videos: HyperSpin/Media/[System]/Video/

Name the file exactly like the ROM name (e.g., Super Mario Bros.png for Super Mario Bros.zip).

Media Organization​

HyperHQ keeps your media organized automatically:

Folder Structure​

HyperSpin/
  Media/
    [System Name]/
      Wheel/         - Wheel images
      Images/        - Background images
      Video/         - Gameplay videos
      Themes/        - System themes
      ...

Each system gets its own media folders. HyperHQ handles this for you.

File Naming​

Media files match ROM names:

  • ROM: street_fighter.zip
  • Wheel: street_fighter.png
  • Background: street_fighter.jpg
  • Video: street_fighter.mp4

HyperHQ handles naming automatically when downloading.

Media Settings​

Configure how media works in Settings > Media:

Video Quality​

Choose quality vs. file size:

  • High (1080p) - Best quality, large files
  • Medium (720p) - Good balance
  • Low (480p) - Saves space

Download Preferences​

  • Prefer HyperTheme - Use HyperTheme by default
  • Include EmuMovies - Show EmuMovies content (requires login)
  • Auto-download wheels - Get wheels automatically when adding systems
  • Skip existing - Don't re-download what you have

Cache Management​

  • View cache size - See how much space media uses
  • Clear cache - Delete downloaded media to free space
  • Rebuild cache - Fix corrupted cache data

Media Performance​

Disk Space Planning​

Media uses a lot of space. Plan ahead:

Wheels Only: ~1-5MB per system (hundreds of games) Backgrounds: ~10-50MB per system Videos: ~100MB-1GB+ per system (depends on count and quality) Themes: ~50-200MB per theme

Example for 10 systems:

  • Wheels: ~50MB
  • Backgrounds: ~500MB
  • Videos (720p): ~5GB
  • Total: ~5.5GB

Scale up based on your system count.

Loading Speed​

HyperSpin loads media as needed:

  • Wheels load immediately (they're small)
  • Backgrounds load quickly (cached after first view)
  • Videos stream or load on demand

HyperHQ's caching makes subsequent loads instant.

Common Questions​

Do I need all media types? Nope! Start with wheels (essential) and add more as you want. Backgrounds are nice, videos are awesome, but none are required.

What if media isn't available? Not every game has media, especially obscure titles. You can create custom media or go without—HyperSpin shows placeholder graphics.

Can I delete media I don't like? Yes! Just remove the file from the media folder, or use HyperHQ's media management to delete it.

How often is media updated? HyperTheme and EmuMovies regularly add new content. Check back occasionally for new releases.

Can I use media from other sources? Absolutely! As long as files are properly named and placed, HyperSpin displays them. Many community members create and share custom media.

Troubleshooting​

Media Not Showing in HyperSpin?

  • Verify files are in the correct folders
  • Check file names match ROM names exactly
  • Restart HyperSpin to reload media
  • Look for error messages in logs

Downloads Failing?

  • Check your internet connection
  • Verify HyperTheme/EmuMovies login credentials
  • Try downloading individual items instead of batch
  • Check Settings > View Logs for error details

Wrong Media Showing?

  • File names might not match ROM names exactly
  • Check for duplicate files in media folders
  • Rename files to match ROM names precisely

Videos Not Playing?

  • Verify video format is supported (MP4 works best)
  • Check HyperSpin video settings
  • Ensure video files aren't corrupted
  • Try different video codecs if needed

What's Next?​

Got your systems set up and media downloaded? Time to create some custom collections! Check out Creating Collections.

Want to configure controllers for your arcade? Head to Controller Setup.