Latent space, and why pixels are not the unit
Most current video models generate in a compressed representation rather than in pixels. The autoencoder compresses frames into it and reconstructs afterwards, which is why doubling the frame size does not double the work. As of 2026-09-22.
| Cost | Stage |
|---|---|
| Denoising compute | The compressed stage |
| Peak activation memory | Often the reconstruction |
| Frame-size sensitivity | The two ends |
| Step-count sensitivity | The middle |
Inclusion rule. Costs a reader might attribute to resolution. Each is assigned to the stage it actually belongs to, with no vendor figure attached. Order. From the cost in the compressed stage outward.
1Compression ratios are not published
How much the representation compresses a frame is an architectural property that no release in this register states. Without it, a reader cannot predict how a memory figure moves with resolution.
That is one more reason the register quotes figures at their stated configuration rather than interpolating between them.
2The reconstruction is often the peak
Expanding back to full-resolution frames touches more data than the denoising steps do, so the highest memory moment in a run can be at the end rather than in the middle.
It also explains why a small autoencoder can account for a large share of the memory, and why its parameter count is a poor guide to its cost.
3Why the register does not interpolate
No release here publishes a compression ratio, so nobody can predict from these pages how a memory figure moves between two resolutions. The figures are quoted at their stated configurations and joined to nothing.
Two families publish this stage's parameter count separately, which at least names the component. Its share of the weights is small and its share of the memory is not, and no cell here records the second figure.
A reading note, not an entry: no vendor value appears on this page. Where the register records this term for a particular release, it is on the resolution column and on that family's own page. Nearby terms: Upscaling, Frame count.