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Training-Free Sparse Attention for Fast Video Generation via Offline Layer-Wise Sparsity Profiling and Online Bidirectional Co-Clustering

arXiv cs.CV / 3/20/2026

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Key Points

  • The paper introduces SVOO, a training-free sparse attention framework for fast video generation that separates offline layer-wise sparsity profiling from online block-wise sparse attention via bidirectional co-clustering.
  • It argues attention sparsity is an intrinsic layer property with minor input dependence, enabling per-layer pruning levels to be set offline.
  • SVOO yields superior quality-speedup trade-offs, achieving up to 1.93x speedup while maintaining PSNR up to 29 dB on Wan2.1 across seven video generation models.
  • The method addresses previous limitations by considering layer heterogeneity and query-key coupling in block partitioning, outperforming state-of-the-art sparse attention methods.

Abstract

Diffusion Transformers (DiTs) achieve strong video generation quality but suffer from high inference cost due to dense 3D attention, leading to the development of sparse attention technologies to improve efficiency. However, existing training-free sparse attention methods in video generation still face two unresolved limitations: ignoring layer heterogeneity in attention pruning and ignoring query-key coupling in block partitioning, which hinder a better quality-speedup trade-off. In this work, we uncover a critical insight that the attention sparsity of each layer is its intrinsic property, with minor effects across different inputs. Motivated by this, we propose SVOO, a training-free Sparse attention framework for fast Video generation via Offline layer-wise sparsity profiling and Online bidirectional co-clustering. Specifically, SVOO adopts a two-stage paradigm: (i) offline layer-wise sensitivity profiling to derive intrinsic per-layer pruning levels, and (ii) online block-wise sparse attention via a novel bidirectional co-clustering algorithm. Extensive experiments on seven widely used video generation models demonstrate that SVOO achieves a superior quality-speedup trade-off over state-of-the-art methods, delivering up to 1.93\times speedup while maintaining a PSNR of up to 29 dB on Wan2.1.