Converting HDV to H.264 for storage. Any simple way dates and clip splits can be preserved?

Question

THE PROBLEM
Tapes are one of the riskiest ways to archive footage as not only is there the possibility of tape damage but the very real chance that the camera will fail after a few years leaving you with unplayable footage .. .. .. .. unless you are lucky enough to find a replacement one or are prepared to spend money on obsolete equipment.
A further disadvantage is the linear nature of tape which takes ages to import or spool through.
THE SOLUTION
Digital storage on hard drives, memory sticks or SD cards has none of these problems and your video can be played anywhere on any computer etc.
Furthermore after converting to H.264, the video is virtually identical in quality and only takes up 35% of the space (using FCP X's convert to H.264 default setting).
THE SNAGS
I intend to import all my HDV tapes, stick each one on the FCP X timeline and export it as mentioned above.
This will reduce my HDV file size to around 4GB which would also fit conveniently on one DVD, as well as the above mentioned storage devices.
The only problem I can see is that I wll lose the date/time and also the clip-breaks.
The precise date/time is not a serious problem but I would like to preserve clip breaks if possible, even though the inability to do so would not be too serious.
THE HELP?
So have there been any recent developments that would help me with either of these problems cheaply and quickly.
P.S.  I know that I could burn the date/time on the first frame of every clip but that would take an eternity. I could also export every clip singly to H.264 but that too would take an age.

Answer 1

Thanks for the reply, however, unless I am missing something there would be no advantage over simply retaining the original imported HDV files and avoiding the additional time taken to create the archive?
The H.264 route preserves the quality whilst dramatically reducing the file size and will probably be a more universally accepted format than HDV.
Luckily I can live without the metadata and timecode but it would be nice to be able to preserve it.
Naturally I have written details but as they are not integral with the video, there is always the strong possibility of them being lost after my demise.
I intend to keep the HDV tapes and camera of course, but I don't know how long the camera (even when unused) will survive.
My original Canon Video 8 camcorder, bought in 1992 packed in after 8 years leaving me with 25 unplayable tapes until last year, when by a minor miracle I was able to borrow a Video 8 tape deck.
Similarly, my first mini-DV camera purchased in 2000, packed in recently but luckily I have another DV camera together with my HDV one which can still play them.
From the research I have done it seem quite general that many cameras, even when little used, bite the dust after a decade, probably due to electronic deterioration/malfunction. They work perfectly but the next time you use them the transport mechanism refuses to function  even though there is obviously no mechanical wear.