I'm thinking of transferring all of my aged video collection onto my PC but I have no idea where to begin. I guess I'll try asking a few Q's...

What hardware, besides a PC and a VCR, will I need?
Is there software out there that can allow me to 'remaster' the footage?
What sort of bitrate is best for DIVX conversion and DVD rips?
When transferring is Macrovision a problem or is it now easy to bypass?

Thanks for any help.