http://pal-v.com/

I'm not sure if this meets your expectation, but a test can be accomplished using the option ExecStartPost. This method is being used in the current Fedora package for MariaDB to test for active database using an additional script called mariadb-wait-ready.

ExecStartPre=, ExecStartPost=
Additional commands that are executed before or after the command in ExecStart=, respectively. Syntax is the same as for ExecStart=, except that multiple command lines are allowed and the commands are executed one after the other, serially.

If any of those commands (not prefixed with "-") fail, the rest are not executed and the unit is considered failed.

systemd.service

mariadb-wait-ready described as:

# This script waits for mysqld to be ready to accept connections
# (which can be many seconds or even minutes after launch, if there's
# a lot of crash-recovery work to do).
# Running this as ExecStartPost is useful so that services declared as
# "After mysqld" won't be started until the database is really ready.

The mariadb-wait-ready script uses the following command:

/usr/bin/mysqladmin --no-defaults --socket="$socketfile" --user=UNKNOWN_MYSQL_USER ping

Thanks!

Link to a Sci Fi Science episode where they evaluate the design of a lightsaber using components available today. Some other episodes have related topics discussed in the comments.

I tried out the WD TV Live and was impressed by it. I was streaming recorded content from MythTV using UPnP/DLNA and tried a number of other media files over USB and it was able to play them quite nicely. I played a bit of content recorded from a HD-PVR (in 720p) and it played back nicely.

Based on size, features, and price it is a worthy consideration. One of my co-workers owns 2 WD TV Live and at least 1 of the original WD TV. He has been very happy with them. Currently at least one of his WD TV Live is running the b-rad firmware.

I built a HTPC, along with some friends, several years ago to run MythTV. I have been very pleased with the result. It took a while to decide on the hardware. I have a system that sits with the TV. It is reasonably quiet., basically I only hear it a little when all sound is off and even then mostly when I walk closer. I looked for cases with Silicon mounts for HDs and 120mm fans (1/2 speed switch). I've got a passively cooled video card. We picked the Antec Fusion and I have been really pleased with it. There is also the NSK2480 without VFD and the MicroFusion now. One friend even built a second machine using basically the NSK2480 since he like the Fusion case design so much.

That said, I have been looking for a nice compact low cost front end that I can use if I get a second TV. Ideally I would like to run mythfrontend since it provides complete support with mythbackend (LiveTV, Commercial flags, etc). The devices I have primarily considered over the years are the HD TV Live, popcorn hour, Apple TV/Mac Mini (only if I can install Linux and run Mythfrontend), or a itx computer.

Based on how content is being accessed is the primary consideration along with required features. Aside from the LiveTV and commercial flag limitations with MythTV, I am currently most interested in the WD TV Live based on my criteria - small, networked, HD, significant codec support (MPEG2, DivX, Xvid, h.264, ogg, ac-3, etc), cheap. I had been looking for a device for several years and I became excited when the the WD TV Live came out. It is the closest device to what I'm looking for. I figure I can even just make LiveTV on MythTV accessible over UPnP with a little effort.