the invention relates to a method for the multimodal representation of image contents on a display unit for video holograms . said unit comprises at least one or several light sources , an optical system , and a spatial light modulator slm with hologram contents . according to the inventive method , the unit directs the wavefront that an object would emit to the associated eye positions such that the viewer sees the reconstruction of the scene and different views are presented to the eyes by means of temporal or spatial multiplexing in order to generate the stereo effect . the inventive method is characterized in that the light of the zero order of diffraction is directed to the eye positions for a holographic representation in a first mode , whereby the viewer sees the reconstructed scene , while the non - diffracted light is directed to the eye positions for a direct representation in a second mode , whereby the viewer sees an autostereoscopic and / or a 2d representation on the slm . the invention also relates to display units for implementing said method .