The short answer to why the analog outs on a High Definition player are important is that you can't get the full benefits of the new HD audio formats on coax or tosilink cables, not enough bandwidth is the reason most often given for why they won't work over them. You can hear the formats with hdmi connections, but the 990 does not have hdmi. Analogs can be used to send the new formats to your 990. In the case of the toshiba's, you can still get improved audio compared to sd dvds, on the coax/tosilink because of a conversion "trick" done by the player, I think it was labeled something like a "surprise" DTS mode.