I thought about implementing the MD behind the panel as well, but we went a different route and added an MD below. Why? Simple. Usability. One of the things people tend bring a CD or DVD home. They don't want to walk into a closet where the server is situated to put the media into the drive. They go straight to the display, insert the media into the device and want to start watching/ hearing.
Yes, it does add "clutter" to the living room, but in my opinion, it is well worth it.
rgds
Oliver