I have just bought my iPad, very impressed to. However when I add a mpeg film to iTunes absolutely nothing happens? From my research it looks like maybe using something like Handbrake and ignoring iTunes is the way to go but just wondered if anyone knows why this is happening?

yep easy use handbrake for convert it and it will be work like a charm

iTunes / iPad does not support mpeg playback. You will need to convert your mpeg into an iPad friendly format using a video converter like Handbrake.

You can also use apps like AirVideo to convert and stream almost any format from your Mac/PC to the iPad. This method has the added benefit of not taking up any space on your iPad.