I have a small flat screen TV (Toshiba) that I often connect via HDMI to my laptop (an HP Pavilion dv4) and use as a computer monitor. When I do this, I prefer to use the TV's speakers, particularly when I'm watching video, because the sound quality is much better.

However, when I connect the HDMI cable after turning on my computer (rather than having it plugged in before booting up), Sound Settings does not list the TV as an output device, and I am forced to reboot.

I was curious if there is an easier solution to this, perhaps a CLI command to check for new sound outputs. Does anyone know of something like this or have another solution?

To clarify, I believe this is a software problem. The HDMI always works, and I can switch my desktop over to the TV at any time. The issue is that, if the HDMI wasn't connected during start up, the TV will not appear as an output option in the Sound Settings GUI. So, unless I'm mistaken, my question is not HDMI specific, but rather a general usage question about manipulating sound settings from the command line.