This is a question I've spent a lot of time pondering. I myself own a Samsung 61" DLP.
It probably has similar input options to your television. I'm assuming that you're using a VGA p-sub cable. Neither of our televisions have outputs for VGA component cables, which feature six plug heads as opposed the standard five. First off, its important to know that Microsoft has put two VGA p-sub cables on the market. The first says 'HD' on the front but only outputs up to 720p. Avoid that one. The one you want specifically lists '1080p' on the back but doesn't say HD on the front. It's annoyingly confusing and no one seems to have written about this. I had to figure it out on my own. Amazon.com, last I checked, actually had the two different units mixed up with each other.
Before you plug in your VGA cables, plug in through normal component cables and select 1080p under the system settings for screen. Now turn off your machine. Hook up your VGA p-sub cable. Go the same setting. The screen will have different options. Make sure that the setting is on 1920 x 1080. The listed resolution is the same for 1080i & p. So using the listing that appears on the component screen is the only way to ensure that your XBOX recognizes the difference.
Next make sure to play with the ratio settings on your 360 and Samsung. I don't remember what I had to do, but I know I had to input something to get the screen ratio right. Next, go to your Samsung menu and check out 'settings'. On my TV, there are options for PC Screen Quality and 'PC Home Theater'. If your TV has the same features, this should help you get an optimal screen quality.
I compared my new resolution with the old. Halo 3 looks about as good in terms of color and picture. But the framerate had nearly doubled. I'm guessing that component cables support the 1080p resolution but downgrade the framerate from 60 fps to 30. The animation is much more vibrant over the p-sub.
After spending two grand on my new system, it was worth the extra $40 bucks to get the full picture quality. I've compared Halo 3 at HD-VGA enabled 1080p to my HDMI enabled PS3. They look about the same. For the most part, I like the picture quality on the Blue Ray more than the HD-DVD, but the differences seem to be in the quality of the disc masters themselves. From a visual standpoint 'Fantastic Four: ROSS' (Blue Ray only) and 'The Fountain' (HD-DVD only) are each as good as anything I've seen.
If there's any difference between an HDMI hookup and a well configured VGA p-sub cable, I haven't heard anything. I'd love to hear about other users experiences. New 360 owners don't have to worry about this. They've got HDMI. Us early supporters kind of got screwed. It was by luck that I had the necessary technology to use a VGA cable. Many TV's don't have PC outputs. However, these are generally older models that only output up to 720p or 1080i. Most models that do 1080p tend to have PC outputs. If your TV can only do up to 1080i or below, then component cables will work fine.
A final note on sound. The p-sub cables has red and white A/V cables for sound. If you have a stereo, you can plug the red and white cables into it. The cable also features a PC stereo adapter that you can plug the cables into to get sound on your TV. I don't know if HDMI enabled 360's have upgraded features for digital sound in conjunction with the HD-DVD player, but if they do, then that's the only real advantage HDMI has over VGA p-sub. I know, it's pretty complicated. Remember when we bought consoles because they were more user friendly than PC's?
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