 The BBC acquired some Magnetophon machines in 1946 on an experimental basis, and these were used in the early stages of the new Third Programme to record and play back performances of operas from Germany (live relays being problematic because of the unreliability of the landlines in the immediate post-war period).These machines were used until 1952, though most of the work continued to be done using the established media; but from 1948 a new British model became available from EMI