Integrated VR (IVR) systems consist of a head-mounted display (HMD) and body-tracking capabilities. They enable users to translate their physical movements into corresponding avatar movements in real-time, allowing them to perceive their avatars via the displays. Consumer-grade IVR systems have been available for 10 years, significantly fostering VR research worldwide. However, the effects of even apparently significant technological advances of IVR systems on user experience and the overall validity of prior embodiment research using such systems often remain unclear. We ran a user-centered study comparing two comparable IVR generations: a nearly 10-year-old hardware (HTC Vive, 6-point tracking) and a modern counterpart (HTC Vive Pro 2, 6-point tracking). To ensure ecological validity, we evaluated the systems in their commercially available, as-is configurations. In a 2x5 mixed design, participants completed five tasks covering different use cases on either the old or new system. We assessed presence, sense of embodiment, appearance and behavior plausibility, workload, task performance, and gathered qualitative feedback. Results showed no significant system differences, with only small effect sizes. Bayesian analysis further supported the null hypothesis, suggesting that the investigated generational hardware improvements offer limited benefits for user experience and task performance. For the 10-year generational step examined here, excluding potential technological progress in the necessary software components, this supports the validity of conclusions from prior work and underscores the applicability of older configurations for research in embodied VR.

翻译：集成式VR（IVR）系统由头戴式显示器（HMD）与身体追踪功能构成。该系统使用户能够将自身的物理运动实时转化为虚拟化身在虚拟空间中的对应动作，并通过显示器感知化身的运动状态。消费级IVR系统已问世十年，极大地推动了全球范围内的VR研究。然而，即使IVR系统出现明显重大技术进步，其对用户体验的影响以及过往基于此类系统的具身化研究的整体有效性仍常不明确。我们开展了一项以用户为中心的对比研究，选取了两代具有可比性的IVR系统：已发布近十年的硬件设备（HTC Vive，6点追踪）及其现代对应产品（HTC Vive Pro 2，6点追踪）。为确保生态效度，我们在其商业原装配置下对系统进行评估。通过2×5混合实验设计，参与者需在旧系统或新系统上完成涵盖不同使用场景的五项任务。我们评估了临场感、具身感、外观与行为合理性、工作负荷及任务绩效，并收集了定性反馈。结果显示系统间无显著差异，仅存在微小效应量。贝叶斯分析进一步支持零假设，表明所研究的代际硬件改进对用户体验和任务绩效的提升作用有限。针对此处考察的十年技术代际跨度（排除必要软件组件的潜在技术进步），本研究既支持了既往研究结论的有效性，也证实了旧版配置在具身VR研究中的适用价值。