USL is engaged in the manufacture, research and development, and sale of motion picture sound, audio equipment, sound process controls and visual test equipment. The Company through direct sales and its dealer network provides equipment to most major studios and theater chains. In addition, USL's equipment and products are utilized by independent theaters, production companies, and sound stages. Under the USL name and trademark, Ultra*Stereo equipment is sold and used in every country in the world.

Ultra-Stereo began as a small electronic consulting Company designing and constructing 35mm projection rooms for film producers and built sound systems for several theatres. The following year the company designed a special, portable eight channel location recording system for film director Robert Altman. The sound system became the Lion's Gate Eight Track system and was used on the productions of "California Split", "Nashville", "A Wedding", and numerous others. Noted studio recording engineers have claimed this equipment to be revolutionary to location sound mixing.

In 1984 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in recognition of the superiority of the Company's products and design work presented the Company with an Academy Award for best technical achievement. Again in 1997 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences chose to recognize Roger Hibbard, USL's Chief Engineer and James A. Cashin, USL's founder for work in their field that improves the overall motion picture experience.

The company has experienced sustained growth since inception. The product lines have increased from analog sound track decoders to a wide range of audio-based products, services and calibration instruments. These diverse product lines range from post-production engineering services to Assistive Listening Devices for the hearing impaired to projection system instrumentation. The Ultra*Stereo sound track encoding process was used to record the sound tracks of over three thousand motion picture and video productions. The JSX-1000 processor was the first non-Dolby analog processor to be certified for use in THX approved theaters.

The company is active in technical circles and has some of the leading professionals in their field working for the Company. It has been Ultra*Stereo's philosophy to provide the theater industry, and ultimately the viewing public, with the highest quality sound processing and visual enhancement to enrich the multimedia experience of motion pictures.

In addition to its internal staff and production facilities the company utilizes extensive outsourcing in both the production and research areas. The Company strives to use best current available technology and sources for its materials, components, production, and research efforts, while maintaining control over the design and ultimate resulting production, to insure quality products.

The reliability of the Company's products is among the highest in the industry. The engineers and staff at the Company provide full support for its products.

With the addition of its digital signal processor line, the Company has developed one of the first fully digital theater decoders on the market. The development of ancillary digital sound products resulting from this three-year intensive research project is presently occurring. The advanced photonics and optics research project is underway for use in the professional and consumer markets.

Ultra*Stereo Labs was founded in 1982 by Mr. James A. Cashin. Mr. Cashin is President of the Company and owns a majority of the shares. From 1975 to the founding of the Company, Mr. Cashin worked in the technical and production end of the motion picture industry both as a producer and in the technical equipment development area.

James A. (Jack) Cashin
Founder and President
jack@uslinc.com

Founded USL, Inc. in 1982 with the intent of offering low cost options for studio surround encoding and cinema sound equipment. Received two Technical Achievement Awards, the first in 1984 from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the engineering and development of a 4-channel, stereophonic, decoding system for optical motion picture sound track reproduction. In 1991 and 1995, USL, Inc. was voted Manufacturer of the Year by the International Theatre Equipment Association. In 1998, won his second Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the Projection Screen Analyzer, a computer based video device that measures screen brightness. It allows for the adjustment of the weave, jitter and screen illumination for optimum projection performance. In 2001 was awarded the Samuel L. Warner Memorial Medal Award from The Society of Motion Picture Television Engineers. In 2009 USL recieved its 5th prestigious Teddy Award, also known as the Manufacturer of the Year Award.

In 1972, Jack was hired by director Robert Altman to design the now famous location eight-track recording system, which revolutionized the technique of sound recording, and was perfected with the release of Altman’s renowned film, “Nashville”. From there he founded Advanced Cinema Systems, a company, which designed studio and production recording equipment. At the urging of a local theatre owner, the company developed its first cinema surround sound processor, the CS Series.

A member of SMPTE, ITEA, AES, NASCA, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Jack lives in San Luis Obispo, California with his wife, Felicia, and their award winning Brussels Griffon show dogs.
Educated in Electrical Engineering at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he moved to the West coast to attend the graduate division of USC’s film school. Shortly thereafter, the US Army recruited him where he became a Signal Corps instructor at the motion picture photography school at Fort Monmouth, N.J. Later at the US Army Pictorial Agency in the Pentagon, he wrote scripts for informational films for the US Congress and the general public.

Felicia Cashin
Vice President
Felicia@uslinc.com

As Vice President of USL, Inc. since 1986, Felicia has directed the development of the USL corporate image, spearheaded international growth, established an effective customer service department that has been recognized five times with “Manufacturer of the Year” awarded by ITEA. Twenty five years of experience in operations has allowed the marketing and sales of USL, Inc. to strengthen and target international markets while increasing the worldwide corporate identity and integrity. Prior to this, she had over ten years in the banking industry with two major corporations, Manager of consumer affairs for Citicorp (Carte Blanche) and Operations Analyst for Home Savings. She was educated at the University of California, Los Angeles, with an emphasis in Business Law.

As well as being a foster care parent, Felicia has also been involved in foster care fundraising through her Access Foundation for the past ten years. She has served on the board of many charitable organizations, such as the San Luis Obispo Performing Arts Foundation and the privately operated Woods Humane Society. Felicia is very active with many animal humanitarian associations such as the National Brussels Griffon Rescue.