1. A method by which a server system enables sharing of media among client end devices, comprising: segmenting relatively long media objects into shorter, independently referenced media chunks; transcoding each of the media chunks into one or more distinct transcoding formats compatible with respective client end devices for rendering thereon; enabling user manipulation of references to the media chunks including transmission of references from one client end device to another to enable user sharing of a viewing experience; and upon activation of a reference to one of the media chunks at a client end device, supplying the media chunk to the client end device in a respective transcoding format compatible with the client end device for viewing thereon, wherein the server system automatically detects a client end device based on a combination of one or more properties of an operating environment of the client end device, the properties including identifications of a browser and an operating system executed by the client end device, by: maintaining a device database populated with information describing media-related capabilities and attributes of a plurality of client end devices; upon receiving a request message from the client end device, applying a user agent (UA) identifier from the request message to the device database to identify a best-matching user interface (UI) to be rendered on the client end device; and supplying the best-matching UI to the client end device in response to the request.
1. A method by which a server system enables sharing of media among client end devices, comprising: segmenting relatively long media objects into shorter, independently referenced media chunks; transcoding each of the media chunks into one or more distinct transcoding formats compatible with respective client end devices for rendering thereon; enabling user manipulation of references to the media chunks including transmission of references from one client end device to another to enable user sharing of a viewing experience; and upon activation of a reference to one of the media chunks at a client end device, supplying the media chunk to the client end device in a respective transcoding format compatible with the client end device for viewing thereon, wherein the server system automatically detects a client end device based on a combination of one or more properties of an operating environment of the client end device, the properties including identifications of a browser and an operating system executed by the client end device, by: maintaining a device database populated with information describing media-related capabilities and attributes of a plurality of client end devices; upon receiving a request message from the client end device, applying a user agent (UA) identifier from the request message to the device database to identify a best-matching user interface (UI) to be rendered on the client end device; and supplying the best-matching UI to the client end device in response to the request. 8. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising: maintaining digital rights management (DRM) information for the media objects; and limiting the sharing of the media objects among the users based on the DRM information and bounds of fair use.