At the National Library of New Zealand and Archives New Zealand, the Utaina project undertakes the task to digitise 70,000 audiovisual items between 2020 and 2025, to digitally preserve collections and holdings that are stored on historical and nowobsolete at-risk magnetic media formats. At this scale, the project confronts the pragmatic realities of digital preservation, where decisions are shaped by budget, time and resource constraints, while balancing the needs and sustainability of long-term preservation. This lightning talk delves into how these factors shaped our choices in formats, workflow designs and automation. It will also identify future opportunities where AI can be used to improve the digitised files and create new avenues for preservation and access to cultural heritage and government records.