5. You can. In the past - with DVD-Audio and SACD players - I've usually recommended it because coaxial and optical were still the better choice with DVD. For players that don't have a particularly robust analog section, coaxial or optical can still be the better connection choice for DVD's, CD's, media files, and BD's that lack a lossless track. It lets you feed digital audio straight to the 990. The BDP-83's analog section is good enough that many folks who have paired the BDP-83 and Model 990 have simply chosen to use the analog output all the time because the two pieces of gear have quite comparable analog sections, which tells you something the BDP-83's stock analog section. If you are going to use the Samsung for discs over than Blu-ray, having a digital connection would be a simple and cheap step (possibly free, if your supply of spare cables is anything like mine).