Installation
When installing the Hyperion Download Manager for the first time, you should select 'Open'/'Install' rather than 'Save' when prompted.

The Hyperion Download Manager should always be started using the 'Start downloading now' button within the 'My Hyperion' pages of our website.

If you can't get the download manager to install, please click here for more detailed help.

When you first run the Hyperion Download Manager a Settings screen will appear before downloading commences:

Download to this location How you store your downloads depends on how you intend to use them. These guidelines give a few examples only of what you could choose to do.

If you play your downloaded music by browsing folders you could create a dedicated Hyperion folder. The Download Manager will then create a directory structure (see below) within this location.

Alternatively, you can download directly into your media player 'watch folder'. For example, iTunes users downloading MP3 or ALAC files (not FLAC) could download direct into the 'Automatically add to iTunes' folder (located within the 'iTunes Media' folder) to have iTunes automatically incorporate new downloads (DO NOT download FLAC into iTUNES—see 'How to work with FLAC files' below).

Directory structure If you intend to browse your downloads by folder, this setting allows you to determine the folder structure within the download location. (If you are allowing your media player to catalogue your music using the embedded tags (recommended) then it will make no difference which structure you use.) Please note that if you select the Composer-led option and then download an album including music by more than one composer, then the audio files will not end up in the same folder (though they will of course correctly import into your media library as a single album).

Once you have selected your download location and directory structure, click 'Save and start download'.

If you have successfully installed the Download Manager, but are encountering problems using it, please click here.

iPads / iPhones
It is not possible to install the Hyperion Download Manager or to download purchases directly onto your iPad or iPhone—this is an Apple restriction. Please download to your Mac or PC and then sync to your mobile device via iTunes in the normal way.

How to play your downloaded music
The Hyperion Download Manager is not a music player. To play your downloads, you should use your preferred media player. If you have downloaded into your player's 'watch folder', your new music will automatically appear in your player; otherwise you should browse to the download location you specified earlier in order to import and/or play your downloads.

A note on metadata, file conversions and CD burning
Hyperion downloads contain as much additional information ('metadata') as possible. This includes high-resolution cover artwork and, where available, sung texts, translations and commentaries. Please note, however, that not all media players read all of this information; it is all freely available on this website. PDFs of the booklets will be included in your download provided that you use the Hyperion Download Manager. (We regret that we are unable to provide printed booklets to accompany downloads.)

If you wish to convert your downloads into another format, you should be aware that the conversion may not carry across some or all of the metadata/artwork. Some guidance on converting FLAC files is given below.

Please note that Hyperion is not responsible for any difficulties encountered while attempting to convert downloaded files to others formats and/or burn them to CD.

Downloading time limit
There is a generous time limit on downloading our files. (You are reminded that it is illegal to share files—you can buy the right to own, but not the right to distribute— please see our full terms and conditions.) It is your responsibility to backup your purchases; if you need to re-download your files after the links have expired, please email downloads@hyperion-records.co.uk. Please include your Hyperion order number (HYP-...) and the email address you used when ordering.

How to work with FLAC files
If you download FLAC files from Hyperion, you may be able to use them with your existing music player software or hardware as is. But in some cases, you may want to use them with software that doesn't support the FLAC format (notably iTunes), or with hardware that doesn't handle FLAC files. FLAC files are lossless, which means they contain exactly the same musical information as full CDs. Because of this, you can convert them to other lossless formats, burn them to CDs, or convert them to lossy formats, such as MP3 or AAC. To convert these files, you'll need specific software, unless your music player software supports FLAC files and can convert them to other formats. Here are some suggestions for software you can use.

If you wish to use FLAC files with iTunes, and sync the files to an iPod, you can convert them to one of several formats that iTunes handles. If you wish to retain the lossless quality of the original files, you should convert them to Apple Lossless (ALAC) format. This lossless format is similar to FLAC, and none of the musical information is lost in the conversion.

If you use Windows, the free foobar2000 offers playback and conversion of a number of audio formats. You'll need to download the programme itself, and you may need to download certain components, notably the ALAC Decoder, if you wish to convert your files to Apple Lossless format. While foobar2000 has a bit of a learning curve, the program's web site has ample documentation. Easier to use, though not free, is dBpoweramp Music Converter. In addition to the programme, you may need to download additional codecs, or files that allow the programme to encode and decode different file formats.

If you use a Mac, the free Max allows you to convert music files to and from many formats. You won't need to download any additional files, as Max includes all the libraries necessary for file formats that are not natively supported on Macs. The same developer also provides the free Play, a music player that supports FLAC files directly. Another free program, XLD, offers additional features and can convert to and from more formats.
Mac users can find more information about using and converting FLAC files in this Macworld article.